


The Great Medic

by DeathByShyKid



Category: Naruto
Genre: And he gets one always, Anxiety, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, Depression, Feels, Friends to Lovers, Haruno Sakura is a Good Friend, Kakashi is still Kakashi, Lots of Angst, M/M, Medic - Freeform, Medical Jargon, Medical Jargon explained for easy reading, Medical Procedures, Minor Original Character(s), Nara Shikamaru is a Good Friend, Naruto Medic, Naruto is a medic, Naruto is a medical encyclopedia, Naruto is a precious child and needs a hug, Sakura is a fangirl, Sasuke still wants revenge, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto, Smart Uzumaki Naruto, Strong Uzumaki Naruto, Team as Family, Uchiha Sasuke is a Good Friend, Uzumaki Naruto is a Good Friend, and a better boyfriend, but he's not an asshole anymore, but not in a bad way, he just loves the team more than he did in canon, i don't know how to tag, medic!Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-14 21:17:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 34
Words: 143,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13016316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathByShyKid/pseuds/DeathByShyKid
Summary: "However, for those who master medical ninjutsu, these people are praised in the shinobi ranks for saving lives." No one could've known that those words that Iruka spoke during a lesson in the academy could have changed Naruto's life forever.Watch out everyone, Naruto is back more badass than ever!





	1. The Push Into Healing

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [The Great Medic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16572194) by [DeathByShyKid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathByShyKid/pseuds/DeathByShyKid)



~~~~Naruto walked through the academy gates with a bored expression. He saw the other kids hanging around outside because the classes hadn't started yet. He decided not to hang out in the heat and headed for Iruka-sensei's classroom. The blond haired boy opened the door to only find two people sitting in the chilled room. Iruka stared down at him, a surprised look crossing his face before he chuckled, "I don't think I've ever seen you be early to class before."

Naruto grinned up him, "It was hot outside."

Iruka smiled, "Well, you can do what you want, but I expect you in a seat before the first bell rings."

"Yes, sir." He nodded before going to the back of the classroom. He walked up the stairs and slid in beside Shikamaru. He poked the sleeping boy.

The Nara heir groaned before opening his eyes and looking at the other boy, "Have I really been sleeping for most of the class?"

Naruto laughed, "No. Usually, I would be late, but today I decided to come early."

"Well, that's certainly a change of heart." Shikamaru scoffed.

"So, what do you want to do? We have about twenty minutes before class starts." He asked.

The black haired boy sat up in his seat, "Well, I just recently got into a card game. I'll teach it to you." For the next three minutes, Shikamaru explained the rules and directions of the game  _Speed_. Naruto was already captivated by the card game and was extremely excited to start. The cards were placed out and the game started.

Iruka watched discreetly from his desk as he completely homework that he meant to finish last night. He'd seen the two play games during free time – well, whenever Naruto wasn't late and Shikamaru wasn't sleeping – and they always seemed to have a good time. The game they were playing was one Iruka remembered from his academy days;  _Speed_. It was a fast paced game and was played with numbers. Iruka had always been good with numbers, so he'd won the majority of the time. However, while watching two of his students play  _Speed_ , he became very shocked. Shikamaru hadn't won a single match – which was  _extremely_ shocking – and you could tell that he'd been trying his best. Iruka noticed that there was a calculating glaze over Naruto's, one that he'd only seen Shikaku and Hiruzen have.

The bell rang loudly, startling the three people in the classroom. Shikamaru grabbed all of the cards and put them back in their box. The two academy students shook hands for a good game as Naruto walked down the stairs and took a seat in the front of the classroom. He grinned at Iruka who stood with a baffled expression. Children started filing into the classroom, talking amongst themselves. Choji took his seat beside Shikamaru, already opening a bag of chips for the two to eat. He looked over at his best friend, "So, what did I miss yesterday?"

He looked over at the Akamichi heir, "Not much, just some training."

"Oh, well that's okay." Choji shrugged.

After a few seconds, Shikamaru poked his friend's shoulder, "Did you know that no one has ever beat me in any kind of card game except my dad?"

The brunette nodded, "Yeah, how can I forget?"

"Well, what if I said that Naruto can beat me in  _Speed_?" He asked.

Choji furrowed his eyebrows, "You mean that really fast-paced game my dad taught you?"

He nodded, "The exact one."

The other boy laughed, glancing over Naruto, "There is absolutely no way that he could beat you in  _Speed_."

"Well, he did." Shikamaru stated seriously, "We played about ten games within seventeen minutes and he beat me every time. I'm not sure how."

"Maybe he's a closet genius," Choji suggested.

The Nara heir shook his head, "I don't know. From what I've just seen, he's most likely good with numbers, colors, and shapes."

"What do colors and shapes have to do with a card game?" Choji asked.

"Each card has a set number, color, and shape. Let me give you an example. The seven of diamonds. The number is seven, the color is red, and the shape is a diamond." Shikamaru stated, "Naruto could just briefly glance at his deck before easily placing down a card."

"Wow, I didn't think Naruto would be capable of that." He munched on a few chips.

"I didn't think so either until this morning," Shikamaru said, crossing his arms on the table and placing his head on top.

Once the room was filled, Iruka started taking attendance. Everyone was here looking either bored or expectantly at him. He stood up from his seat, holding a piece of chalk in his hand. "Today were are going to be learning about ninjutsu." He wrote the word down on the chalkboard for the class to see. Iruka circled the eight lettered word for more emphasize. "Ninjutsu is a term that shinobi use when referring to almost any and every technique which allows the user to do something that they would otherwise not be capable of doing." Iruka looked to the class to see them all looking confused except for a select few. "Let me give you an example." Iruka chuckled before flying through some hand signs, "Bunshin no Jutsu!" An exact copy of the teacher appeared before them all. He smiled at the awed expressions on his student's faces, "Ninjutsu is one of the three main types of jutsu, the others being genjutsu and taijutsu. Ninjutsu can help you on missions or in battle. Some kinds of ninjutsu can be used as distractions or help to up your regular abilities."

Sakura raised her hand politely. The teacher nodded for her to begin. She stood up, "What are the different types of ninjutsu?"

Iruka chuckled, "There are  _thousands_  of different kinds of ninjutsu, Sakura. Even if I decided to tell you all of them, it would take years to explain them all."

"Then why don't you tell us a few of them?" Kiba suggested with a bored tone.

"Well, alright. There are a few famous ninjutsu that is only found in Konoha. There is the Uchiha's many fire ninjutsu, the Nara's shadow manipulation ninjutsu, the Akamichi's expansion ninjutsu, the Yamanaka's many mind ninjutsu, the Inuzuka cooperation ninjutsu, the-" He was stopped by Ino standing up.

"But, Iruka-sensei, we already know about the clans and their ninjutsu. There have to be some other kinds!" She shouted from her seat.

He sighed, "Well, there is a not-so-popular ninjutsu. It takes years to become a master of the art. This ninjutsu is also one used by the great Sannin Tsunade-sama. It's call medical ninjutsu. Not many people like to use this type of ninjutsu because it takes a while to get the hang of it and shinobi don't want to have the grief of not being able to save everyone. However, for those who master medical ninjutsu, these people praised in the shinobi ranks for saving lives."

Naruto perked up at this.  _"Praised for saving lives?"_  He thought,  _"Maybe if I master medical ninjutsu, the village will finally acknowledge me?!"_ His heart pumped excitedly. He felt jittery in his seat and knew that this could make or break him. He grinned and rocked in his seat as Iruka started to talk about more fundamental things about ninjutsu.  _"Iruka-sensei said that it takes years to become a master, but if I started learning now then I'd be on my way to becoming a master."_ Naruto thought,  _"But where do I even begin..."_

A few hours later, a bell rang, symbolizing lunch. Many kids jumped out of their seats with boxes and bags in their hands as they rushed outside. Naruto didn't feel like eating lunch today and instead walked up to his teacher with a grin on his face. "Sorry Naruto, I can't take you to eat at Ichiraku's Ramen today. I've got some business that I have to take care of right now." Iruka stated, scribbling on a piece of paper

He shook his head, "That's not what I was coming to ask you."

"Huh?" He looked up, "Oh, I'm sorry that I assumed. Um, so what is your question?"

Naruto rocked on the balls of his feet, "Um... if I wanted to read more about medical ninjutsu, where do you think I should go?"

Iruka thought for a second, "Well, the public library wouldn't have much on it, maybe a few intermediate books. I'm not sure you'd be able to understand those books." He sat back in his seat, thinking silently. Naruto gave him an expectant look, bordering begging. He sighed, reaching into his desk and pulling out a green book, "I once tried to get basic medical ninjutsu knowledge, but it just didn't work for me. Since then, I've kept this book just in case. I don't think I'll ever use it again, so I guess I can let you have it."

"Really?" His student beamed, holding the large green book in his arms, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"

"You're welcome." He smiled, watching the eight-year-old boy run outside gleefully.


	2. Little Distractions

Naruto sat down on the swing that hung from of a large oak tree, book in hand. He flipped open the first page and started reading  _Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu_. A lot of longer words were fairly confusing. The eight-year-old boy knew that he was going to have to come to terms with these words or else he'll never be a master of medical ninjutsu! He read a few more pages until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Naruto looked up, seeing Shikamaru and Choji standing in front of him. He grinned, "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Nothing much just wanted to know if you wanted to play  _Speed_  before lunch ends." The dark haired boy suggested.

Naruto considered turning down the offer so he could delve himself into his medical studies, but these we're his friends. He shouldn't forget about the little amount of friends he has so that he could be acknowledged. Naruto nodded, "Sure!" The blond haired boy put a bookmark in his book before closing it and hopping off of the swing. The three boys sat down in the shade as Shikamaru got out his cards. Choji watched from the sidelines as the two started to play. He marveled at the pace Naruto had set early into the game. His hands looked to be flying as cards were placed down quickly. Choji's best friend was trying to keep up, but you could tell that he was falling behind. Two more rounds were played before Shikamaru switched with Choji. Decks were dealt out as another game started. However, the brunette couldn't keep up with Naruto. He only got to put down five different cards while the kid in front of him was already out. Choji was baffled by the way that Naruto could beat them so easily.

A bell rang symbolizing that lunch was over. Shikamaru collected his cards as the three headed back into the classroom. Once the class settled, Iruka started to explain that we would be learning the three most basic jutsu known throughout the world. The Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Henge no Jutsu. All three were jutsu that gennin  _needed_  to learn in order to pass. The Bunshin no Jutsu allows the user to create a clone of themselves. The Kawarimi no Jutsu allows the user to replace themselves with an object or another person. The Henge no Jutsu allows the user to transform into an object or another person. He started to explain how each worked in terms of hand signs and chakra usage. After about thirty minutes of this, the class would be able to test it out.

"Now," Iruka started, "I will call on someone to try and perform the three jutsu. Don't fret if you can't do it just yet. Kiba, you're the first up."

"Alright!" He hopped out from behind his desk and rushed down to stand beside his teacher. The brunette clumsily went through the hand signs for the Bunshin no Jutsu. A copy of himself appeared, but this one didn't have legs. Kiba flushed in embarrassment as his clone rolled on the ground before disappearing. The class chuckled at this. He flew through the easy hand signs for the Kawarimi no Jutsu, replacing himself with a book on a student's desk. The girl who sat there shrieked, pushing Kiba off of her desk. He fell and the class started laughing at him again. He grumbled a little bit before doing the Henge no Jutsu. He transforms into the girl who'd pushed him off and started strutting around. The henge disappears after a few seconds and Iruka sends him to his seat.

"Sasuke, you're next," Iruka stated, writing down Kiba's  _performance._

The brooding boy stood up from his desk as he walked down the stairs. He quickly did the hand signs for the Bunshin no Jutsu, which came out perfectly. The bunshin started to do the hand signs for the Henge no Jutsu, transforming itself into Iruka before replacing themselves with a broom with the Kawarimi no Jutsu. Sasuke let the bunshin dispel on its own before retreating back to his desk. The majority of the female population in the room started to squeal and gossip about the boy.

Iruka rolled his eyes at the girl's behavior, "Choji, it's your turn."

The brunette sighed before placing down his bag of chips and walking up to Iruka. Choji tried to do the Henge no Jutsu, but it just wasn't working. He tried four different times, but he'd only be able to get his clothes to change, not his full body. His teacher nodded for him to continue. Choji went through the signs for the Kawarimi no Jutsu, but he couldn't replace him with the book on his desk. He tried again but was losing hope so he gave up. He took his time with the Bunshin no Jutsu's hand signs and it came back with a good result. An exact copy of himself popped into the world, waving before disappearing.

"Good job." Iruka smiled reassuringly as Choji made his way back to his seat, "Sakura, it's your turn."

She smiled, heading towards Iruka. Once she stood beside her teacher she started to make a bunshin. A perfect copy of herself appeared, grinning cutely. The bunshin transformed himself into Sasuke as the clone started to do the signs for the Kawarimi. Sakura and the clone swapped places before it disappeared. Iruka gave her a thumbs up as she sat down.

"Shino." He stated, scribbling down Sakura's work.

The quiet boy stood up by his desk before doing a Kawarimi no Jutsu. He replaced himself with the book that was left on the floor by Iruka from Kiba's Kawarimi. He did a henge of Iruka before creating a bunshin. Each was flawlessly executed. Shino left to sit in his seat, passing the book that had appeared on his desk to the girl. She thanked him as the next person was called.

"Shikamaru, wake up, it's your turn," Iruka said.

He opened his eyes and walked down to the bottom lazily. Shikamaru yawned before doing a Kawarimi no Jutsu with his teacher. Iruka was stunned for a second before writing down something. The Nara heir sped through the hand signs for the Bunshin no Jutsu. The clone appeared sitting down, snoozing on the floor. The class chuckled at the clone's antics. It disappeared after a few more seconds. Finally, Shikamaru did a henge of Choji which didn't stay on long.

The teacher nodded to the lazy boy and started writing down some notes for later, "Alright, Hinata, show us what you've got."

The shy girl nodded and walked down the stairs, glancing over at Naruto who was too busy reading a book. Her hopes fell a little bit as she stood beside Iruka. She quietly produced a clone of herself. Hinata's clone tried turning into Naruto through a henge, but it didn't work out for her. Iruka encouraged her to try a kawarimi. She nodded and went through the hand signs, only to miss two of them and mess up. Hinata's cheek's flushed red due to embarrassment as she sat down sadly.

"Ino," Iruka stated.

The blond haired girl smiled and did a Kawarimi no Jutsu to replace herself with Sasuke. The Uchiha raised his eyebrows in shock when he found himself in her seat. "Yes!" Ino cheered, pumping her fist in the air. She rushed down to stand by Iruka excitedly as Sasuke removed himself from her seat. She summoned a bunshin flawlessly. Ino then tried to henge herself into Sasuke, but only her hair changed colors. Ino pouted as her bunshin disappeared and she went and sat down.

"Alright, last but not least. Naruto, it's your turn." Iruka looked up from his writings to find the blond-haired boy engrossed with the medical book he'd given him, "NARUTO!"

That seemed to knock him out of his readings. The boy looked at his teacher sheepishly before realizing that all eyes were on him. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Oh hey, Iruka-sensei! What'd I miss?"

The Chunnin instructor sighed, "It's your turn."

"Turn?" Naruto looked down at his book for a second, internally cursing the book for distracting him, "What for?"

Iruka groaned, "Naruto, we've been practicing jutsu. The Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Henge no Jutsu. If you'd been paying attention you would know."

Naruto nodded sadly, "Yes sir."

"Now, please do the three jutsu in front of the class." He stated.

The boy got out of his seat, passing chuckling and giggling children. He hid his hurt and sadness as he stood beside his frustrated teacher. Naruto took a deep breath before doing a kawarimi with his medical ninjutsu book. He did another kawarimi with the same book so that he'd be standing beside Iruka again. Naruto heard numerous kids whisper about him showing off. He left those words alone and started going through the hand signs for the Henge no Jutsu. He decided to turn into the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. However, when the smoke left his body, everyone started to laugh at him. He'd managed to turn into the Third Hokage, except the henge looked to be melting. Naruto dispelled the henge and tried to form a bunshin. He managed to produce one, but it looked dead. The class laughed loudly and Naruto started to feel ashamed as he left for his seat. Iruka caught on very quickly.

"Quiet down!" He shouted out, silencing the cackling class, "It is okay if you didn't get some of the jutsu down..." Iruka started to babble on about the importance of this three jutsu and how they could be useful in battle. Naruto wasn't listening. He was staring at the open medical ninjutsu book, but he didn't read it. His mind was in shambles. He was embarrassed to have messed up not only one but  _two_  of them. Naruto sighed, placing a bookmark in the large book before closing it and laying his head on top of it. His eyes closed for an afternoon nap.

When school had ended, Naruto rushed off to the library. He planned on finding a few books about a Sannin named Tsunade. Iruka had mentioned Tsunade being famous for her medical knowledge and Naruto planned on reading anything about her. He also planned on getting a couple of books on medical ninjutsu to better his knowledge. When he'd gotten home, his hands were full of books. Naruto had found only two books that would really help get him on his path to becoming a medic and the rest were about Tsunade. Feeling excited again, he ran to his couch to continue reading, making notes as he went. Naruto had worked well into the night, vigorously reading and writing.


	3. Of Hopeful Spirits

The evening bell rang loudly in the middle of Iruka's lecture. He chuckled as the students flew out of the classroom with such enthusiasm. They were going home for the weekend. "Naruto!" He called out through the excitement, "Can you please stay for a little bit? I have a few things I would like to discuss with you." The boy stood still in the moving ocean of children until they were all gone.

He walked forward, staring up at his teacher, "You needed me?"

Iruka nodded, "Your grades are getting worse by the minute. You are showing up to school late nearly every day and when you're here you are exhausted half of the time. I'm suspecting that the book I gave you is becoming a problem."

Naruto looked down, ashamed of his actions, "I'm really sorry, Iruka-sensei. It's just... I've always wanted the village to acknowledge me and when you talked about how great masters of medical ninjutsu were treated here, I just wanted to learn it as fast as I could."

"You'll get there one day." He stated, placing a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, "But in the meantime, I want you to pull those grades up and go to bed at a proper time. Okay?"

He grinned, hugging his teacher, "Okay!" Naruto rushed out of the door with a large grin on his face, his laughs echoing down the hall. Iruka felt a swell of pride open in his heart. He had no doubt that the boy could do it. Naruto's determination was unlike any others. He chuckled before going back to the paperwork he was working on the day before.

Naruto stood in front of the large building with a renewed shine in his eyes. He wasted no time running up the steps of the library and opening the door. He waved at a young woman, about sixteen. "Hey squirt, how's it shaken?" She asked.

"It's shaken, baby!" He exclaimed. They two laughed for a few seconds, getting shushed by the owner.

The lady grinned, "Well, don't blow your brains out, kid."

"I won't!" He returned the grin before heading over to a table in the far right corner where he took off the bag on his back. Three books spilled out on the vacant table. One was the precious book that Iruka gave him. One was about Tsunade Senju. The last one was about poisons. Naruto had been reading his medical ninjutsu book when it started to speak of common injuries that medics may come across. Broken and fractured bones, open wounds, cuts, internal damage, amputation, poison, and other minor injuries. The poison was one of the ones listed that made interested. He pulled out one of the notebooks he had bought the other day and started to make notes. Naruto stayed in the seat for hours and hours until nearly closing times. He fled from there and towards his home.

As he finally laid in bed, he thought back to Iruka-sensei's words. He really needed to take better care of himself. He wasn't eating and drinking as much now because all he wanted to do was study hard and become acknowledge. Naruto just read about what happens to the body if it is not kept up with. Regular eating, drinking, bathing, sleeping, and the list goes on and on. He gave a bright smile, "Tomorrow is a new day to start something great!" With that motivation, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

Iruka sighed, walking down the street with a bag in his arms. He was going to visit Naruto for a celebratory dinner of sorts. He smiled, the street lights illuminating his journey towards his student's house. Ever since Naruto got hooked on learning about medical ninjutsu about a month ago, his grades start sky-rocketing. While they may not be one Shikamaru's, Sakura's, or Sasuke's level, Naruto was no longer being called the dead-last of the class. He was happier, his temper leveling out which was a surprise. Everything Iruka saw in the classroom of the kid's will of fire, he reported it to the Hokage. The Third Hokage and Naruto had always been close. The older man was ecstatic about the blond haired child's progress. The Third Hokage started to give the boy more money so that he can spend them on books and the likes of.

Iruka managed to get to Naruto's house by six o'clock. He shifted the bag in his arms to knock on the apartment door. There was a startled yelp from inside and Iruka couldn't keep the chuckle from escaping. Something fell over, another shout, mumbling, a gasp, something falling over again, laughing, and then the click of the door. Naruto gave a bright grin, "Iruka-sensei!"

He smiled, "Hey, Naruto."

The boy pointed at the bag in his hands, "What'cha got?"

"Though you'd be hungry," Iruka stated.

Naruto's eyes shined brightly in the darkness, "Really?! Well, come in!" He opened the door more so that his teacher can walk in.

Iruka did as such and looked around the apartment. His eyes widened. The last time he was here, there was a mess anywhere and everywhere you laid your eyes on. Now, everything is presently cleaned and organized. There were also a few new things that he hadn't seen before in the boy's apartment in past visits. A desk of dark wood was on the far wall near Naruto's bed with papers and pencils placed delicately. On either side of the desk, there were two extremely tall bookshelves. One of them had notebooks that looked to be mostly filled. The other had books of different sorts while all being related to health and medical ninjutsu. There was a circular table in the middle of the room with three pillows on the ground for someone to sit on. All in all, it was a sight to see from a previously messy kid. Iruka turned to Naruto just as he was closing the door. He blinked in curiosity, "Wow, I'm surprised."

"Why?" Such an innocent question.

"Your apartment!" He gawked.

Naruto furrowed his brows, going to sit on one of the pillows by the short table, "What are you talking about?"

"Do you not realize how much you've changed. Wait, scratch that. You do realize how much you've grown?" Iruka asked excitedly sitting beside his student on the floor.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked.

"Absolutely not! That means that you are on your way to becoming someone very mature and that's fantastic!" He smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes!" Iruka gave a thumbs up, "I'm so proud of you."

Naruto's eyes got wide, "You are?"

"I am." He gave another soft smile.

His student grinned brightly before giving an embarrassed smile, "I took what you said to heart. About pulling my grades up and going to bed earlier. I've also been eating better and studying. I'm trying really hard."

Iruka ruffled his hair, "Of course you are, you're Naruto. You can do anything that you set your mind to. You've done great so far.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto seemed to glow in happiness, "Now, let's eat!"


	4. Diving Deeper

Naruto yawned, leaning back in his chair. Papers, notebooks, and books crowded around him on the wooden desk. He rubbed his eyes but instead of wondering if he should go to bed since it was nearing two in the morning, he just sat there absorbing and thinking about what he'd just learned. Iruka had given the suggestion last Thursday that if he wanted to learn  _even_ more about medical ninjutsu, he should look up the history. There is so much you could learn about a subject from just looking back at the many fascinating historical events that have occurred. Granted, Naruto absolutely loathes the history lessons his teacher would give about the villages and the likes of, however, medical history had just made him even more intrigued about becoming a master in the subject.

When the suggestion had fallen upon the eight-year-old boy, Naruto's first thought was to look over all the notes and books he'd collected over time about Tsunade Senju. However, he'd practically memorized those books after so many hours of keeping his nose in a book. So, what was the only other option to know more information about the Sannin? Go to the Third Hokage and ask about his student. Due to that interaction, the knowledge about Tsunade's many achievements and tragic downfall that happened in the past filled his mind to the brim.

The old Sarutobi man had given Naruto another book a few days ago about the history of medicine and famous doctors for the boy to study. He took it graciously before going home and knocking himself out with knowledge. After reading the book thoroughly – making sure to make notes along the way – the blond-haired boy hadn't even realized that there were  _that_ many different types of vaccines, poisons, antibiotics, and other variants of medicines and toxins. There were also  _extremely_  famous doctors and medics who weren't even ninjas at all. It really put it into perspective for Naruto that he didn't  _have_ to become a ninja to achieve this goal of becoming a master of medical ninjutsu, but he  _wanted_ to. He'd read that some of the best masters were either on the battlefield or in hospitals. The boy used to think that the doctors at the hospital were just people who gave out bandages and cut up people with a sharp scalpel. However, know that he's been enlightened about what  _exactly_ goes on at a hospital, Naruto feels grateful to have just  _awesome_ doctors in Konoha. There's so much to learn and he's doing it all on his own...  _mostly_.

He let out another yawn, rubbing his eyes once more. "Okay, that's enough for today." He told himself, cleaning up his mess on top of his desk as quickly as he could before walking towards his bed. Naruto turned around and fell backward onto the bed. Grabbing the blankets, he wrapped them around himself like a burrito of sorts. He looked at the calendar on the opposite wall, seeing that it was the weekend. He sighed in content and curled up in bed, falling asleep within minutes. Even while sleeping, his mind was still on the thought of becoming a medic and having everyone respect him. He was ready for this. He  _needed_ this. Every day, he strives to be acknowledged and now, he's starting to be noticed. The Old Man's noticed that his grades are getting better and saying how close Naruto is to becoming a great Hokage one day. Iruka is encouraging him to stay on the path Naruto's chosen for him and become a medic, accepting that he's going to be great one day. Shikamaru has helped challenge him when they have free time at school, which only makes Naruto strive to not only  _be_ better but  _do_ better. His few friends have all been so supportive. It made him happy.

* * *

 

Naruto popped another hard candy in his mouth, knowing not to bite down or else his teeth might become chipped, cracked, or they might even break. He'd learned this from a book about dentists he picked up somewhere along the lines. He was walking down the street with one of his notebooks in one hand, eyes running left and right in quick succession. He was rereading some of his notes that were about healing oneself without any use of hand signs. So far, only the accounts of Hashirama Senju – the First Hokage – and his granddaughter, Tsunade Senju have been recorded as the only two who could do this. He'd read about the two being in the midst of battle looking beaten and broken. Then, they'd just stand up with absolutely no wounds on their bodies. No one can figure out why they were able to do this without some form of hand signs. Naruto had gone to the Third Hokage with questions for the man to answer but only left in wonderment.

He still has no idea how either Hashirama or Tsunade do it.

"Naruto!" A familiar voice appeared from in the distance.

The eight-year-old raised his head, blinking in surprise to see Kiba – one of his classmates – and his dog running towards him. Naruto smiled brightly and waved, "Kiba, Akamaru!"

Akamaru barked, running circles around the boy's legs as Kiba finally approached him. The dog left Naruto's side to stand beside the Inuzuka, "Naruto, where have you been?"

He cocked his head to the side in question, "What do you mean?"

"You haven't made one of those cool and flashy pranks in  _months_!" The brunette exclaimed with wide eyes, "It's like you vanished!"

Naruto gave out a laugh, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah, sorry about that. I've just been preoccupied for a while. I don't have much time anymore for pranking."

"Man, that must suck!" Kiba whined, crossing his arms over his chest before his eyes widened and he smirked, "Why do you help me prank my older sister today?! Hana's been an ass to me for a few days for some reason and I really want revenge! Want to help me?"

"Kiba, I really can't. I've got too much to do." The blond-haired boy said sadly, "Maybe some other time?"

The other boy grinned brightly, "Yeah, of course! Just don't back out of it when I ask again!"

"I won't." Naruto chuckled, watching as the boy and his dog left.

"What's this? You haven't pranked anyone in months?" A sarcastic voice questioned from behind him.

The boy swiveled around, a large smile spreading on his face, "Iruka-sensei!"

The brunette shook his head in exasperation, "I'm guessing it's because of that book I gave you, right?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, and thank you again for it."

He waved him off, "Well, I should have done that  _years_ ago if I would have known that it would stop your pranking."

"Hey! I'm not  _stopping_ my pranks... I'm just... waiting? Yeah, that's what I'm doing. Waiting for the right time to  _strike_." Naruto gave his teacher and evil smirk.

Iruka rolled his eyes, "Sure you were."

"I was!" He countered.

"Whatever the case may be, do you want to get some ramen?" The older man asked, pointing in the direction of Ichiraku's Ramen.

Naruto's eyes shined as he nodded quickly, "Yes, please!" On the walk there and even after they had ordered their food, Naruto could not help but talk about what he's learned so far about medical ninjutsu. Iruka was an avid listener in the boy's intellectual analysis of several aspects of medical techniques and the likes of. He was pretty sure the other customers weren't too happy about hearing the boy's rather loud and passionate voice penetrate their conversations about doctor stuff. The old man who ran Ichiraku's Ramen and his daughter listened intently, smiling brightly at their favorite customer. Iruka bets that he didn't even get a word in while Naruto talked his ear off about the cool and fascinating things that a medic ninja or doctor could do.

Iruka smiled slightly, finishing off his food as Naruto kept talking. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder, halting him from speaking. The eight-year-old blinked in surprise before his cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. He gave a sheepish grin. "Naruto, I'm so proud of you." Iruka returned the grin back full force, "Keep up the great work."

Naruto's eyes couldn't have shined any brighter at that moment.


	5. It's Not As It Seems

Naruto looked up and down the streets with an inquiring eye, slightly noticing the strange looks he got. They weren't what they were like several years ago, scorning him for just standing and smiling near them. They were of disbelief or curiosity. The nine-year-old boy couldn't exactly figure out why so he just kept walking. Every few minutes, he would glance down at his notebook, making sure that what he was looking for would be around here. Naruto had already spent an hour on the streets, walking around trying to find what he needed. Just as he turned a corner, his eyes lit up at the sight of the weapon's shop. He pocketed his notebook in his pack that slung over his shoulder and rushed inside. The air-conditioned shop made him sigh in content; it's always nice to get out of the heat sometimes. He looked up and down the aisles, finger tapping his chin in wonderment. Kunais, shurikens, staffs, katanas, tanto, and the likes of littered the shelves with slightly expensive prices but it wasn't what he was looking for.

"Excuse me, do you need any help?" A young woman's voice came from behind him.

Naruto spun around and gave a soft smile, "Yes, ma'am. I was wondering if you had any medical revival practice scrolls?"

Her eyes widened before she began to blink quickly, "Medical revival practice scrolls? Ah, I'm sorry, I don't think we have those here. You can check the weapon's shop down the street; they have most ninja gear that is in scrolls."

"Oh, okay. Thank you for your time." He bowed politely before exiting the shop with a wave. The heat struck him intensely, making him stop so that he can adjust to it. He sighed before starting to walk towards where the woman had said the second weapon's shop was. It didn't take long for him to reach it and open the door. It seemed like either the air conditioner was broken or they didn't have any at all because it's as hot in here as it is outside. Naruto wiped his forehead before browsing the aisles of scrolls. He had to pick most of them up and read what the contents were on the side. Aisle after aisle and so far, nothing.

"You seem to be a little frustrated. Do you need assistance?" A deep voice said from above him.

Naruto stood up from his crouched position he took to look at the contents on the bottom shelf before giving a sheepish smile, "Yes sir, that would be awesome."

"What are you looking for?" The older man questioned, looking the boy in the eye.

"Medical revival practice scrolls." He stated.

"Sorry, kid, we don't sell those anymore. Ever since Tsunade-sama left the village years ago, the amount of people buying those types of scrolls are slim to none so that boss man made me take them off the shelves for some of those  _fancy_ ninjutsu scrolls that are big right now." He said with a growl in his throat, "However, I do think there could be some in the back that I'd be willing to sell you."

"Really?!"

The man grinned, "Yeah, I'll go see if we have any. You stay here and browse for a little bit. You might even find something that's worth your while."

Naruto beamed in gratitude, "Thank you, sir!" The older man waved and went towards the back of the store. He walked around the aisles again, picking things up and reading the description. The man running the store was right, a lot of these scrolls are just fancy ninjutsu that probably wouldn't do a lot of damage in combat.  _"Kind of useless..."_ He thought to himself.

"I'm back." The bouncy voice of the store clerk said, coming up from behind him, "Turns out we only have about four of those types of scrolls. The other ones are either smeared on the inside, making them useless for practicing or the scroll is torn in some places."

Naruto bowed, "Can I purchase all of them?"

He nodded, the two head over to the counter for an official purchase. The older man looked down at the kid while he was pulling out money for the scroll, "You know, I'm wondering something."

"Hm?" He put the money on the table.

The brunette slid the money off the counter and started counting it, "What's a kid like you doing trying to learn medical ninjutsu? It's not that I have anything against it, I was just wondering because it takes  _years_ to even be considered adept."

"I... want to be acknowledged by the village." The nine-year-old boy stated shyly, looking away as the clerk slid him the scrolls which he took happily, "Iruka-sensei said in one of our lessons at the academy about a year ago that people who master medical ninjutsu are praised in the shinobi ranks for saving the lives of others."

The man smiled brightly, "That's a wonderful dream. If you ever seem to find yourself in the need of something, come back here and I'll see what I can fix you up with."

Naruto bowed, "Thank you, sir."

"Names Liam." The brunette nodded, "Now, get on with that practicing. Good luck, kid."

"Naruto Uzumaki, that's my name!" He laughed, starting to walk towards the door.

Liam shared the laughter, "I'll remember that when you become a great medic!"

Naruto waved before leaving the shop, feeling such happiness from just a small gesture. He looked down at the four scrolls clutched in his arms as a genuine smile spread across his face.  _"A great medic?"_ He chuckled quietly, heading back home,  _"Yeah. A great medic!"_

* * *

 

**Two weeks later...**

Shikamaru stared with wary eyes at his blond-haired friend who had one of the grimace faces he'd ever seen. It was like angry fire was billowing in his eyes. He didn't know whether to disturb the boy's obvious stupor and say something or to just leave him to stew in his own emotions. Either way, it seemed too troublesome. However, despite every lazy bone in his body, Shikamaru turned and poked the nine-year-old's cheek, "Naruto, what's wrong?"

The other stiffened up for a second before sighing out sadly, shouldering sagging low and his head drooped, "It's nothing, Shikamaru, promise."

"Troublesome brat." He mumbled, rolling his eyes before poking his cheek again, "You're really bad at lying."

Naruto snorted, turning to look at the black-haired boy, "I'm just having a hard time with my studies."

"Academy or medical?" He questioned.

"Medical."

"Oh." Shikamaru blinked before crossing his arms on his desk and laying his head on top of it, "Then I have no idea how to help you."

Naruto shook his head, doing the same as his friend, "Figured."

The two listened in on the lesson Iruka was going on about for a few minutes before the Nara heir glanced at Naruto, "How do you plan on fixing your problem?"

"I'm going to go to Jiji to see if he can help me out. He knows a lot." He stated with an exasperated look on his face.

"Jiji?"

"The Third Hokage," Naruto replied.

Shikamaru was quiet for a few seconds, "You do know how disrespectful it is to call the Hokage – of all people – an old man?"

"Yep."

"And he doesn't correct you at all?" He questioned.

"Nope."

The black-haired boy snorted, "Figured."

"Naruto! Shikamaru! Stop talking and pick your heads up from those desks immediately. This is a place for learning, not sleeping!" Iruka called up from the front.

"Damn..." Shikamaru groaned, lifting his head up from the desk and leaning back against his sheet.

Naruto, doing the same, only chuckled, "You're so lazy."

"And you're a smart ass." He smirked.

"Whatever." The two nine-year-olds chuckled quietly in the back of the class, getting a dirty look from their teacher as he continued with the lesson.

* * *

 

"JIJI!" The familiar voice filled the hallway outside the Hokage's office door.

Hiruzen chuckled to himself, waving at one of the ANBU members to open the door for the boy. He smiled as Naruto walked in with a questioning look on his face. "What can I help you with today?" He asked, knowing that the boy was either wanting to ask something or  _wanted_ something.

"Why haven't these," He shuffled to put four scrolls on the desk, "worked?! I can't get them to do anything!" The Third Hokage picked them up, reading the contents on the side before accidentally letting out a snort. He covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing. One look at Naruto's face made him lose it. The boy gave the old man an indecorously look, "Jiji! This isn't funny! Why aren't these working?!"

The old Sarutobi man whipped a tear from his eye before chuckling quietly, "My apologizes, Naruto. I'm guessing that the academy hasn't gotten to the lesson about chakra control yet."

"Chakra control?" He questioned.

"Chakra control is what every ninja needs to have any success at becoming a ninja." Hiruzen stated, "To open this scroll, you need to move your chakra from your body into the scroll. Here, let me show you." He picked up one of the scrolls and started feeding it some of his chakra. Naruto was intently as the scroll absorbed the chakra and instantly started to unroll itself.

His eyes widened in shock, "Woah!"

"Do you know how I did that?" The older man questioned, using more chakra to seal the scroll back up.

"No, but it looks cool." He admitted.

Hiruzen chuckled again, "Well, I used my chakra control to push my chakra into the scroll. The reason you couldn't open the scroll is that you don't have any chakra control whatsoever."

"How do I get it?!" Naruto questioned immediately.

"You've got to train yourself to do that." He smiled, watching the excitement and determination burn in the boy's eyes.

"How?"

The old Sarutobi man stood up, waving for Naruto to follow him. They walked over to the wall to the left of them where a bookshelf stood with scrolls and books completely filling the entirety of it. The blond-haired boy blinked in amazement. Hiruzen started to pull out some books, skimming over some lines in the books before handing them to Naruto. "These books are about chakra control. What you need to know about it, side effects of having bad chakra control, what you can do  _with_ chakra control, and many chakra control exercises." He stated with a smile, "I suggest you start off with just researching about it. Don't try to do most of those exercises in one night. I know how you like to rush things. Take your time with chakra control, it could help you in the end."

Naruto gave the older man a genuine smile, "Thank you so much, Jiji! I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't." He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Now, if you have any questions about chakra control, just go ask Iruka. They'll be starting chakra control lessons soon so he'd be the best person to ask instead of myself since I've mostly been busy with my duties as Hokage."

"Alright, Jiji. Will do!" With that, he sped off towards his house.

The Third Hokage watched with proud eyes, "He's going to grow up to be a great Hokage. Don't you agree?"

Danzō stood against the wall, seeming to have appeared out of nowhere, "Hokage? He'd do even better if he were training under me."

"Now, now, Danzō. Let him do his own thing. He seems to be doing fine by himself, taking one foot at a time." Hiruzen grinned, "He doesn't need your training to be great."

The bandaged man rolled his eye, "I doubt it."

"Your doubts won't make Naruto falter." The Third Hokage chuckled, looking out the window at the setting sun, "He's going to do great things for this village."

"I think that's the only thing we're agreed upon," Danzō stated.

"Indeed."

* * *

 

"So, I just concentrate chakra into this leaf and hope it burns?" Shikamaru's unsure voice flitted through the forest.

Naruto laughed, "No, you idiot. You don't  _hope_ it burns, it  _will_ burn. Let me show you." He picked up one of the leaves that had fallen around them. Emotions left his face, seriousness and concentration appearing in seconds. His eyes closed, controlling his chakra flow until the leaf started to burn. It disintegrated in seconds. Blue eyes surfaced again, this time with excitement, "See! Aren't you glad that I showed you this?!"

The nine-year-old in front of him furrowed his eyebrows, "This is a chakra control exercise, right?"

"Yep!" He nodded ferociously.

"How long have you known this?" Shikamaru asked.

"Um... let me think about that for a second. Okay, so Jiji gave me those books about two and a half weeks ago... and I learned it a few days after getting the book... so..." Naruto tapped his chin, "I've known how to do this for a little less than two weeks."

He nodded, "How long did it take you get it right?"

"37 hours." The blond-haired boy admitted.

Shikamaru blinked, "Yeah, I don't know if I'm cut out for it."

"You're such a lazy prick, sometimes." Naruto pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, "I told you this because Jiji dropped the hint that Iruka-sensei was going to give us a two-week lesson about chakra control and this  _exact_ exercise is the one he is going to test us on in a month."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" He groaned, "So troublesome..."

"I thought you'd be interested and learn it so that you can be ahead in class," Naruto confessed.

Shikamaru sighed, lying on his back and looking at the clouds, "Well, looks like I'm going to be preoccupied for a while."

The other boy scoffed, crossing his legs while sitting on the grass, "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"No, just too troublesome." He shrugged.

"So lazy." Naruto tsked, "Being  _that_ lazy can have some serious side effects and it seems that you are completely unaware of them."

Shikamaru gave the boy a sideways glance, "Side effects? Sounds fake."

"Oh, but it's not." He nodded to himself, "The side effects of being lazy are the following: creativity begins to be rusted away, destruction of motivation, ambitions remain a distant dream instead of reality, physical stagnation in activities, negative effects towards personal and professional life, unproductiveness in general, being late to important events, and the list goes on and on."

"Why are you just describing my clan?" He blinked with a bored expression on his face, "Those aren't side effects, that's just who we are."

"Whatever, Shikamaru. I've got to head out. I have some late night studying that I want to do before bed." Naruto shook his head in exasperation before he started to walk away, "Good luck with your chronic laziness and chakra control."

Shikamaru waved, "Thanks, Naruto. See you tomorrow."


	6. Acknowledgement

Naruto stared into the old man's eyes with a child's curiosity. He could see several scrolls in front of the Third Hokage. He blinked, "Why'd you call me here, Jiji?"

Hiruzen gave the boy a kind smile, "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. You only turn ten once."

Naruto grinned brightly, "Thanks, Jiji."

"As a birthday present, I've collected these scrolls from my personal library." The Third Hokage had to keep in his chuckle at seeing the boy's eyes widened in shock, "For nearly a year, you've practiced chakra control and learned many exercises. You can proficiently open a scroll with your chakra control and have above average chakra control for someone your age. Not only will you finally be able to put those medical revival practice scrolls to use but you will also be able to use the scrolls I am gifting to you to better your knowledge and experience."

The blond-haired boy smiled happily, "Thank you so much, Jiji. You've already helped me so much, how can I ever repay you?"

"The only way you could ever repay me is to stick to your dream and become someone great one day." Hiruzen replied, handing the boy the scrolls, "There are directions on the inside that will help you in your task. If you ever need help, go to the hospital and ask Dr. Terra. She's an old friend of mine and I'm sure she'd help you out."

"Okay, do you want me to complete these assignments in a week like you did with the chakra control exercises?" Naruto questioned.

"No, take your time with those medical revival practice scrolls and the ones I've provided with you. You need to thoroughly understand them before being able to do anything with them. That will take time." He explained.

He nodded, "I know I keep thanking you, but you've just done so much for me."

"It's quite alright. You have a dream that you want to achieve so I won't stop you in your path to greatness. Instead, I want to help you on your journey." The Third Hokage smiled.

"I'll make you proud, Jiji!" Naruto grinned, running out the door in happiness.

Hiruzen watched the boy leave, smiling to himself, "You've already made me proud, Naruto."

* * *

 

A bead of sweat trailed down Naruto's face as he stared intently at the deer, green waves of healing chakra flowing from his hands. Gritting his teeth, he pushed harder. He'd been walking around the area for some time when he saw a doe fall to her knees, blooding draining from her side. The deer had obviously been attacked by a predator. Seeing this as an opportunity, Naruto rushed into action but not before checking the area in case the predator that'd hurt the doe was around. He got on his knees, using his knowledge and limited experience to start to heal the deer.

The healing process had started out rocky, but he was slowly getting the hang of it. The only thing he's healed – or rather brought back to life – were amphibians and fish from the medical revival practice scrolls. He'd never healed something that was still living; it was a scary experience. However, he seemed to be doing well because the deer finally open her eyes, staring with startled eyes as he healed her. Naruto gave the deer a small smile, before going back to his work. The wound was finally closing, all the internal injuries finally having healed up. She started to stand up on her shaky legs, looking down at the boy who'd healed her. The doe bowed her head respectfully before walking away slowly.

Naruto gave a sigh of relief before looking down at his bloodied hands, "Ew." Don't get him wrong, he'd gotten over his queasiness of messing around with bloodied or dead things  _months_ ago, but that didn't mean that he liked getting it on his hands. He blinked as an idea struck him, "Maybe I should think about investing in some gloves..." He nodded to himself, standing up from the bloody grass. Naruto started to head home, wanting to wash the crimson liquid on both his hands and clothes. If anyone saw him, they'd probably think he killed someone. At the thought, he stopped. "Yeah, let's  _not_  do that." He turned around and headed for a river he knew was close by. The blond-haired boy reached it in minutes and went by the edges, crouching down low so that he can wash away the blood. He looked at his clothes, seeing a few stains on his shirt from the deer's blood. Taking it off, he started to scrub it in the river water with his now clean hands. "If only I had some soap..." He mumbled to himself, but nonetheless, he got the blood stain out. He nodded to himself, wringing out the water clinging on to his shirt. It still felt a little damp. "I'll just let it dry out." Naruto said to himself, laying it out in the sun while he pulled a book from the backpack he'd brought with him.

Flipping to where he last left off and started reading. Iruka had given him this book the other day after class, saying that there is some interesting material inside that Naruto could potentially use in his medical ninjutsu studies. There were several theories surrounding different aspects of using medical ninjutsu. The only theory that's been confirmed by doctors and specialists is that medical ninjutsu cannot only be used in just healing but can also be used in combat. This concept was established by watching Tsunade Senju – one of the greatest medics in the world – use her medical ninjutsu prowess to fight. Naruto had especially wanted to learn about using his medical knowledge for fighting purposes.

One of the other Sannin, a man by the name of Orochimaru, also used a form quite similar to medical ninjutsu. It was more for scientific purposes, but nonetheless, it was his medical skills that allowed him to do most of what he can do. Orochimaru used things like poisons and experimentation on people. While experimenting seemed so wrong in Naruto's mind, the poisons the man had made were astounding to him. He'd need to ask the Third Hokage what he knows about Orochimaru's poisons and abilities. He might even go to the library to see if there were any biographies about Orochimaru or scrolls of his known abilities. One thing Naruto will stay away from is all of the forbidden stuff that the snake-man used in his time in Konohagakure like experimenting on comrades and kidnapping children for his own sick tests.

Naruto was learning how to save people's lives not take them away.

His eyes peered over the page, reading an interesting section about meditation.  _"Doctors and medics in the field use a form of calamity to clear and east their minds. When healing someone or something, a medical specialist needs to have a calm mind to successfully do their job. The form they use to achieve this is called meditation. Meditation has been used in multiple forms of ninjutsu to achieve maximum calamity. Doctors and medics need meditation especially to do better at healing and saving lives. Studies have found that it also helps a medical specialists chakra control."_ Naruto read over the section again before narrowing his eyes in wonderment, "Meditation helps to calm medics?" He looked at the picture underneath the paragraph, seeing a person in a meditating pose with a few tips beside it.  _"Close your eyes. Clear you mind, think of nothing or everything. Fill your mind with nothing but calm memories. Slow your breathing down until you are in a trance of tranquility. Maintain the calamity for as long as desired."_

Naruto set down the book, looking from his sitting position to the book. Following the picture in the book, the ten-year-old boy started to position himself so that he was in a meditative sitting position on top of the grass. "I hope I'm doing this right..." He whispered to himself, before shutting his eyes, letting out a deep breath. Is was quite hard to clear his mind and 'fill his mind with nothing but calm memories'. Slow his breathing was a no-brainer for him and he achieved it easily. After a few minutes, everything seemed to have slowed down. He could hear things surrounding him. The water rushing down the river, the wind blowing in his ears, the sound of his soft breathing, the rustling of the grass, the trees swaying above him, animals and critters alike walking around the forest. It all seemed to calm.

He smiled to himself, staying in that position for the majority of the day.

* * *

 

Naruto and his classmates were standing outside to start some sparring. Iruka was going over some simple rules and regulations of the spars, explaining to the students what they can and cannot do during said spar. He was flipping papers on his clipboard to make sure that he'd given out all the rules when he accidentally cut his finger. He hissed and looked at his papercut, seeing blood start to ooze out. Iruka was about to wipe away the blood on his pants when Naruto ran over to it. "Can I heal it?!" The boy excitedly asked.

The brunette blinked in surprise before chuckling, giving his students his hand. The other students watched as Naruto pulled out an antiseptic tissue, whipping down the finger to make sure that bacteria didn't get into the wound which could cause an infection if not treated. Green chakra started to leave one of Naruto's hands, the papercut disappearing completely. He smiled up at his teacher, "There! No more cut!"

Iruka smiled, ruffling the boy's hair, "Thank you, Naruto, for healing my cut." He flipped the paper to read off students' names, pairing them together to spar.

The blond-haired boy walked back to stand beside his friends. Shikamaru smirked, shaking his head, "Troublesome, brat. You just had to show off."

"Me? Show off?" Naruto gawked, pointing at himself for emphasis, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Healing a papercut is considered showing off," Choji said, finishing off the potato chips he'd been eating earlier.

"Jiji said that I should practice using my medical ninjutsu all the time. That's what I was doing, practicing." He stated, arms crossing over his chest, "I wasn't showing off."

"Whatever you say." The Nara heir shrugged as the three watched the spars happening.

After about thirty minutes, all the spars had been completed. Iruka gave them about an hour of free time before they would have to head back inside for another lesson in history. Naruto was chatting with Shikamaru and Choji when this group of girls walked up to them. One of them stepped forward and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "H-Hi... We were just wondering if you'd, um... heal us?"

Naruto gave the girls a warm smile, standing up and walking over to them, "I'd love to. Where are you hurt?" One by one, the ten-year-old boy used his medical ninjutsu to heal his classmates' wounds they'd gotten from the spars. This seemed to attract the attention of the other students, numbers slowly starting to grow around the medic-in-training. Naruto smiled at his classmates' enthusiasm and surprise while he healed them. After a few minutes, a familiar face appeared in front of him. "Hey, Sasuke." He smiled.

"Hn."

"Do you need any healing? I hope I didn't hurt you too bad in our spar... even though you won..." Naruto asked sheepishly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm just curious to see if this actually works." He held out his scrapped arm, tensing slightly when Naruto grabbed it. With a slow wave of his hand, the scrapped skin was gone.

"There, all done." The blond-haired boy nodded.

The Uchiha looked at his healed arm, "How were you able to do that?"

"Healing chakra." His hands turned green to show him what it was, "Doctors and medics use it all the time. It takes  _years_ to get to the point where I'm at but it's worth it."

"Sasuke-kun!" Two bubbly voices came from behind the dark-haired boy. Ino and Sakura were fighting each other to get closer to him. However, they stopped when they saw Naruto in front of him.

Sakura blinked in surprise, "Sasuke-kun, why are you hanging out with Naruto?"

"I'm not hanging out, just seeing if he was strong," Sasuke stated emotionless.

Ino furrowed her eyebrows, "Seeing if he was strong? Sasuke-kun, that doesn't make sense. He's obviously not strong so why are you wasting your time trying to see if he is?"

"He wasn't wasting his time." Naruto cut in then, getting strange looks from Shikamaru and Choji, "I was just healing that scrap wound I gave to him during our spar."

"Healing?" The pink-haired girl's face contorted into confusion.

"Wound?" The other girl gawked.

The medic-in-training nodded, smiling softly, "Yeah. Want me to show you?" They looked at each other before nodding slowly. "Shikamaru, come here," Naruto called, looking behind him.

"It'd be too troublesome to get up." The Nara heir mumbled up.

"I know you have a scratch on your hand. Get your ass up so I can heal you." Naruto tapped his foot impatiently.

Shikamaru groaned but nonetheless got up and walked over, holding his hand out for his friend, "There, happy?"

He nodded, taking the hand gingerly, "Very." Naruto's hands glowed green as he waved it over the cut on his friend's hand. "See?" He questioned, releasing Shikamaru's hand, "I used medical ninjutsu to heal his cut."

Ino nodded, "That's kind of cool."

"Yeah!" Sakura cheered out.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Thanks."

Iruka watched from across the grass with a large smile on his face.  _"Although it's slow, you're finally getting acknowledged, Naruto."_ He looked down at his clipboard where the scores for the spar were scribbled on to it,  _"You're going to do so many great things. I know you are."_


	7. Putting Pencil to the Page

Naruto found him in the streets early in the morning. His hands were twitching with anticipation as he approached the hospital. He gulped and shivered at the thought of going inside one willingly. True, the eleven-year-old boy absolutely  _loathed_ hospitals since he was a toddler, but now, it just seemed like a foreign place. He walked inside, the smell of antiseptic making his nostrils burn. Naruto walked up to the front counter and smiled at the man sitting behind it. "What can I do for you today, Naruto?" The man asked, instantly recognizing him from all the times he'd come to the hospital for questions about medical ninjutsu.

"Um... I was wondering if Dr. Terra was here?" He asked politely.

The older man looked at a chart, eyes skimming across it, "Yeah, she's down the hall to your left. Should be in her office."

"Thank you!" Naruto waved, walking down the hall towards Dr. Terra's office. He'd been there countless times so he knew what room to stop at. The door was ajar, bustling being heard inside it. He knocked on the door frame, "Dr. Terra?"

The disheveled woman tensed at the voice, swinging around before sighing in relief. "Naruto, my boy, you startled me!" She exclaimed, wiping a brow, "Come on in." The blond-haired academy student chuckled, walking inside and sitting down in the rolling-chair she had in her office. Terra rolled her eyes, "What can I help you with today, Naruto? Got any more questions about medical ninjutsu?"

"Yes, but I also have a request to ask of you." He stated.

"A request?" Terra raised an eyebrow, looking down at a patient's chart, "What kind of request?"

"I have a lot of knowledge about medical ninjutsu but I don't have a lot of experience. I'll be graduating from the academy in a year but I want to have a lot of experience before graduating so I won't be a hindrance to my team." Naruto stated with a matter-of-factly tone in his voice, "I just wanted to know if I could volunteer at the hospital for some experience."

The older woman smiled, "Funny you say that because I was going to wait a few more days before asking if you wanted to volunteer or – at the very least – train under me for a few months."

He grinned, "Really? Does that mean I'm allowed to volunteer?"

"Yeah, I start my shift in an hour so you can help me with the patients and paperwork," Terra stated, looking at the clock that hung above the door.

"Sweet!"

She rolled her eyes, "Now, about those questions."

"Right! Well, Iruka-sensei gave me this book a  _while_ ago. There was a section inside of it that talked about Orochimaru. He's pretty proficient in poisons, probably from being a snake summoner. Well, I tried asking Jiji about his student but he just shut me down immediately. I tried to get some more information about Orochimaru's poisons and how I'd be able to use medical ninjutsu in battle but I haven't gotten anything yet." He explained thoroughly, "I'm just wondering if you have anything that would give me some insight about Orochimaru's poisons, his way of using medical ninjutsu in combat, or how  _I'd_ be able to use something like that in battle?"

Terra tapped her chin, "Orochimaru-sama is an enigma to most doctors here. He didn't share much about his works, like his corrosive poison that scientists still haven't identified the contents of, so we don't exactly know much about it. However, there are some notes I've stored up over the past decade or so about his works. I can let you borrow it for a few weeks, make your own observation and experiment on your own time."

"Really?!"

"Yes, really." She pulled a draw out from her desk, fingers skimming the titles of folders until she reached a rather thick one. She pulled it out with nimble fingers, quickly flipping through the contents of the folder before handing it out. Terra gave a sheepish chuckle, "I hope you'll be able to read my handwriting, it's quite bad."

Naruto looked at it, nodding sometimes, "No, I'm sure I'll be able to understand this. Thank you, Dr. Terra."

"You're welcome, Naruto. I hope that gives you some more insight into your little medical adventure." She grinned, "Any other questions?" He nodded, replacing the folder with a notebook from his backpack. He flipped to a page near the end of the notebook, before handing it to the old woman. Terra read the contents, her eyebrows furrowing, "Naruto, what is  _this_?"

"I was talking to my friend, Liam – he's a weapon's shop clerk that I met a few years ago – who was telling me some stories on his break about ninjas he's met in his lifetime. He was talking about how some of these ninjas will come back so exhausted from months and months of outside missions with little to no food or water for them to have. They were mostly surviving off of soldier pills which can cause extreme effects on a person's body." He stated, hand tapping his chin in thought, "Well, I wanted to see if I could create something similar to a soldier pill but without the bad side effects."

"This... might actually work!" The doctor's eyes light up in excitement, "I can't believe some of these seasoned medics haven't thought of something like this before. Mind telling me how it works?"

"Well, I've only got a few samples right now that I need to test out in a few days, but it basically has most of the capabilities of a soldier pill. Gives needed nutrients to the body for it to keep going on longer, extra chakra, and increased stamina. However, the only thing different with  _my_ pill is that, for one thing, it allows you to keep going  _longer_ than a soldier pill which only allows you to keep going three days and three nights. I theorize that my pill will allow the body to keep going for almost two weeks!" He leaned forward in utter happiness at finally being able to share his creations, "While not only taking awful, the side effects of using a soldier pill isn't worth the pain because it leaves someone at the point of passing out with complete exhaustion. This would make them useless in a long-term fight. The only side effect of the pill I've made is fatigue and hunger."

"This is simply  _brilliant_ , Naruto! How do you make one of these pills?" Terra questioned, eyes roaming around the page in wonderment.

"Well, they are made with dried rice that's been turned into a powder, turmeric which gives the body the necessary nutrients and more, several different types of vegetables, different kinds of seeds, powdered milk, water, and coffee beans." He stated.

"Coffee beans?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It makes it taste better." He shrugged as Terra handed him back his notebook.

She crossed her arms, glancing at the clock to see how much time she had until her shift started, "You know when you think you're ready to try those tests out, bring a few to the hospital. We'll ask some of the shinobis around here to try them out when they go on a long-term mission. Once they get back, they can tell us how it went."

"Dr. Terra, that's a great idea!" He beamed, putting the notebook back in his backpack.

"When do you think you'll be ready to test it out?" She questioned.

Naruto thought for a second, "Maybe in a week? I wanted to do some last modifications before making a whole casing of them."

"Well, I can't wait to see how the tests go." She grinned, "I think I only have time for one more question before my shift and your first day of volunteering starts. Anything else?"

"I'm trying to see if there is a way for me to be able to use the 'no hands healing technique' that both the First Hokage and his granddaughter use." He stated, "It just doesn't seem like it's possible for them to do it. I've tried researching about it but there is little to nothing about the topic."

Terra nodded, "Yeah, you're right about that. Doctors have no idea how those two are able to heal themselves without hand signs. Not even  _I_ have any notes about that. Sorry, kiddo."

"That's fine. You've already helped me enough for today." Naruto smiled.

"Well, if the questioning is done, why don't I teach you a thing or two about being a medic?" She grinned, grabbing his stethoscope and draping it around her neck. Motioning towards the door, the eleven-year-old boy hopped off the chair he was sitting in and followed the older woman out of her office. "Alright, Naruto here's a question for you. What are the four rules all medics must abide by?" Terra asked, the two of them turning a corner to get to the room of their first patient of the day.

"The first clause that medics must abide by is that 'no medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end'. The second clause is that 'no medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines'. The third clause is that 'no medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon'." Naruto looked up at the older woman, "The fourth clause has only ever been achieved by Tsunade Senju but it is that 'only those medic ninja who have mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique of the ninja art Creation Rebirth are permitted to discard the above-mentioned laws'."

"You've definitely done your research. Good job, kid." Terra smiled, "Today, we are going to treat burn wounds from a fire that broke out this morning at one of the restaurants. You are going to assist me. Afterward, I'll let the nurses pull you around for a few hours. Your volunteer hours start at seven in the morning and end at noon during weekends. On week days, you are to work from four in the afternoon until eight. Am I understood?"

He nodded his head, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Then hurry along, we've got things to do." Terra smiled, entering a room with a few burn patients.

* * *

 

"You've changed," Shikamaru stated bluntly, moving his shogi piece a few spaces, taking down one of his opponent's pieces down.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in concentration before moving, "What makes you say that?"

"You're not loud, you don't have random outbursts in class, you are more aware of the surroundings and the people around you. Plus, you're volunteering at the hospital instead of pranking. Actually, I haven't seen you do a  _single_ prank on anyone since you got into medical ninjutsu." The Nara heir stated, moving again, "You're totally different than who you were before."

The blond-haired boy moved, taking out Shikamaru's piece, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all. It just shows how much you've matured in the last few years." He stated, trying not to grin after Naruto had fallen into his trap.

Naruto groaned after realizing his mistake, "Well, I guess it's a good thing. I'm getting recognized a lot more for what I've done at the hospital and at the Academy. Had one of the villagers go to my apartment and ask if I could heal his daughter's leg because something was wrong with it."

"How'd you do?" He asked, thinking about where to move his shogi pieces.

"Found out that the girl's leg was actually fractured. It was an easy fix." The eleven-year-old boy stated, taking down another of the Nara's shogi pieces once his opponent had moved.

It was Shikamaru's turn as he contemplated again on what he should do, "What do you plan on doing once you become a gennin? You still going to stick with the medic route?"

"I think I am, but I've found some ways to get around the whole support aspect of being a medic." Naruto smiled.

"What does that mean?" His friend questioned, moving his piece.

"It means that I can use my medical ninjutsu knowledge to make it more combat orientated." He grinned at the other boy's shocked face.

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, "Really? How so?"

"Well, Dr. Terra – she's one of Jiji's friends at the hospital who allowed me to volunteer for this long – gave me some scrolls on how to make my healing chakra denser so that I can cut someone with just my hand! It's super cool! I've only  _just_ gotten the hang of it last month. Plus, I just bought these tranquilizer darts and some needles that I soaked with a poison Dr. Terra helped me make." He explained, taking out another one of Shikamaru's pieces, "Sure, it took a long time to get to where I am now, but I'm proud to be a medic-in-training!"

"Sounds troublesome..." He murmured, using a finishing move to win the game, "Glad you're having fun though."

"Me too." Naruto grinned, "By the way, how do you think the graduation exams are going to go?"

Shikamaru thought for a second before cocking his head to the side and speaking with a bored tone of voice, "Well, they'll probably have a written test, a taijutsu test, and a ninjutsu test. I'm guessing we'll have to spar in the taijutsu test while out battle is graded. We'll probably have to do the three main jutsu all ninjas should know for the ninjutsu test. Though, I'm not too sure how they'll grade it."

"You don't think it's going to be based off opinions, right?" He questioned.

"Naruto, of  _course,_ it's going to be based on opinions. Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei are going to be grading us during it." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Oh..."

The black-haired boy sighed, "What's wrong?"

"Mizuki-sensei  _hates_ me..." Naruto whispered with shame in his eyes, "Always has, always will."

"I doubt that," Shikamaru stated, packing up the shogi pieces.

"It's true. He's always giving me a hard time and I've even seen him change my scores for some of my tests." He crossed his arms in a defensive manner, looking away from his friend, "I'm just worried that Mizuki-sensei is going to try to fail me on purpose because he hates me... for some reason."

The Nara heir looked at the cloudless sky, "Maybe you should tell the Third Hokage or Iruka-sensei?"

"I've already told Iruka-sensei but I don't think he believes me. Mizuki-sensei and Iruka-sensei are childhood friends. Iruka-sensei will stick by Mizuki-sensei... no matter  _what_ I say." Naruto stared at the black-haired boy, "I don't know, maybe I'm just seeing things."

"I believe you," Shikamaru stated an emotionless look on his face.

Naruto smiled, "Thanks."

"What do you plan on doing if you think Mizuki-sensei is going to purposely fail you?" He asked, lying on his back and looking at the sky.

The eleven-year-old boy laid on his stomach, chin resting on his forearms, looking at his friend with lidded eyes, "Not sure yet. Probably have to try my absolute best... that means I'll have to study academy stuff for a few months. Ugh, I hate academics."

"But you don't mind sticking your nose in one of your notebooks for hours on end?" Shikamaru snorted.

"Hey! Those are educational and interactive!" Naruto defended.

He chuckled, "Sure they are."

"You're such a pain in the ass." He mumbled to himself, a pout on his lips.

"Uh-huh, whatever you say." The Nara heir rolled his eyes.


	8. Kindness and Betrayal

Naruto walked into the hospital with a bright smile on his face. "Uzumaki-ya!" A cheery voice called from the side. He turned and saw one of the doctors waving him over.

Once appearing before the slightly older man, the blond-haired boy bowed politely, "Dr. Yiruma, it's pleasant to see you this morning."

Yiruma patted his back with a large smile on his face, "Uzumaki-ya, stop with the pleasantries already. We've known each other for almost a year and you are still as polite as ever."

"Sorry, Dr. Yiruma, it's becoming a habit." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"It's quite alright, but I must ask. You're an hour early than your usual volunteer hours. Anything special that I should know about?" The black-haired man questioned with wide eyes.

He waved the doctor off, "Dr. Terra wanted to give me something important."

Yiruma nodded his head excitedly, "Dr. Terra-ya is such a remarkable woman! She's one of the best doctors here!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, giggling quietly, "Watch out, if she hears you bragging about her, she might pull a scalpel out at you."

"Dr. Terra-ya would never do that! She is a kind individual who would never hurt a soul." The older man looked star struck as he talked about his idol.

"Hm, I'm pretty sure Naruto is right, Yiruma." A familiar voice stated from behind the two, "Brag about me again and you might get a cut or two."

The black-haired man blushed bowing furiously, "M-M-My apologizes, D-D-Dr. Terra-ya!"

The older woman gave a hearty laugh, pushing the medic-in-training away, "It's fine, Yiruma. Just get back to work already." Naruto giggled into his hand as the doctor led him towards her office.

"So, why'd you call me in so early in the morning?" He questioned once he'd taken a seat in her chair.

She pouted at seeing the only seat in her office be taken, "There are two things I want to discuss with you."

He looked up with expectant eyes, "Like what?"

"Well, firstly, those new soldier pills you made are a hit!" Terra said with excitement in her voice.

"T-They are?!" He almost couldn't believe it.

"Yep! Those new and improved ones you gave me a while ago, I gave them to the ANBU to see how they would do. They are already requesting more for future use!" She was rolling on the back of her heels, hands rolled into fists as she shook with happiness.

Naruto gave a hearty laugh, "Really?!"

Terra nodded furiously, "They will  _pay_ you for those types of pills. They want to start replacing our soldier pills with those. However, I must ask, what did you do differently because the ones I gave to the ANBU act almost  _completely_ different from some of the shinobi we gave them to."

"The only way to activate my soldier pill is to ingest it and have it touch stomach acid. I couldn't achieve that with my original copies so I just added my healing chakra to it. For one thing, it allows the pills to last longer than soldier pills which can last against the elements for a few weeks while mine can last for a little over a month." He smiled, "So, that was really the only other thing I added to it."

"Well, it's done a damn good job so far. ANBU are thinking about making a contract with you for you to keep supplying them with those pills and they'll give you like a monthly salary for them." She nodded, "However since you're underage, you'll need an administrator for all transactions."

"I'm guessing that's you?" He chuckled.

Terra nodded, "Of course, but you have to be okay with working a few extra hours at the hospital to make more of those... um... what are you going to call them?"

"I'm okay with working extra hours but I don't what to call my creation. Maybe chakra balls... or possibly Uzumaki soldier pills? I haven't given it much thought." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Those are all terrible names." She chuckled, "Now about the second thing. I have a gift for you."

"A gift?" He blinked curiously.

Terra nodded, pulling an envelope from a pocket in her lab coat, "Here."

Naruto took the envelope, taking care to open it properly. He pulled out the contents and choked on his spit. "D-Dr. Terra, I can't t-take this!" Inside was a check for over one-hundred-fifty thousand ryo.

"You  _better_  take it." She gave him a warm smile.

"Volunteering means working for free. If I take this money, I wouldn't be volunteering anymore... I'd basically have a job instead... Dr. Terra, I told you that I was volunteering to get experience in medical ninjutsu. I can't take this money..." He stated out in that matter-of-factly tone of voice he'd started to adapt, "Plus, if I'm taking a job from the ANBU, I  _really_ don't need this."

"Naruto, I've seen how hard you work every day and heard about what you do when you aren't at the hospital. That teacher of yours, Iruka or whatever his name was, tells me that you study and play brain-stimulating games in your free time instead of having fun with the other kids. The Third Hokage tells me what an inquisitive mind you have and how knowledgeable you are about the subject you're interested in." She smiled, "You come here every day, whether it's a weekday or weekend. You work your  _ass_ off and don't mind when one of us corrects or scolds you because you've done something wrong. You are respectful, compassionate, kind, morally correct, and just a well-rounded person in general. You  _deserve_ this."

Naruto could feel tears in his eyes and looked the older doctor in the eyes, giving her a small smile, "I do?"

"Yeah." She grinned, "The other doctors, nurses, and I put this together for you. I've even talked to the director about giving you a  _small_  salary for how many hours you put into volunteering here. I say small because they heard about the ANBU wanting to pay you, but the director agreed. If you take that money, you essentially have a job here."

He pulled it close to his chest, wiping his tears away from his eyes before they could fall, "Thank you so much, Dr. Terra."

"You're welcome." Terra smiled, pulling the twelve-year-old into a hug, "Come on, we've got some patients to treat."

Naruto grinned, releasing himself from the hug as the two exited her office, "On it!"

* * *

 

"Stop tapping your foot, you're shaking the table." Shikamaru groaned from beside him.

Naruto looked down at his foot underneath the desk, halting its movement, "Oh... sorry, I'm just nervous."

"You'll do fine." The black-haired boy stated, head laying on top of his folded arms on top of the table, "So stop worrying and let me sleep."

"Shikamaru Nara," Iruka called from the front.

The heir to the Nara clan gave a disgruntled groan, "So troublesome..."

"Good luck." Naruto gave him a reassuring smile as his friend walked down the steps to go take his finally test of their graduation exam. The blond-haired boy looked over the heads of the other children. There were only a few of them left, him included. Once Iruka or Mizuki called the students in for their last test, they were to wait in front of the academy for an official speech from the Hokage about their new careers as gennin. The rest of the kids who were in the classroom was still waiting to be called for their last test. It was kind of nerve-wracking.

"Naruto." A voice said from beside him.

He looked to his side, smiling slightly, "Oh, hey Sasuke."

"Scoot over." He stated with a bored voice.

Naruto complied, turning so that he can face the black-haired boy, "How do you think you did?"

"Top of the class." Sasuke said, "No way did I get lower than that Haruno girl or that Nara guy."

"You mean Sakura and Shikamaru?" He supplied.

"Hn."

Naruto sighed, "I think I'm going to probably have an average score."

"It's probably because you spent all your time with that medical junk." The other twelve-year-old rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It might be the case, but I've also been studying and practicing  _really_ hard for this exam." He said firmly.

"Hn."

Naruto looked up as Mizuki called another student's name, "Who do you think is going to be on your team?"

Sasuke was quiet for a second, making the blond-haired boy think he hadn't heard. He was about to repeat himself before the other spoke, "I'm definitely the top of the class – this year's rookie – so I'll be stuck with the top kunoichi of the class, which will mostly be Haruno, and the dead last, whoever that'll be. You?"

He nodded, "I'm not sure. I kind of want to be on a team with Shikamaru and Choji, but that won't happen." Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow. Naruto gave a small smile, "Shikamaru and I have already had this conversation. The people making the teams are probably wanting to create another Ino-Shika-Cho team which will consist of Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. They'll be the second coming of their parents who were in a team during their gennin times."

"Oh. Well, if not them, who else do you think you'd be on a team with?" The last Uchiha questioned.

"I would say Sakura, but you're right, she'll be the top kunoichi of the year and that means she's on a team with you. I'm no longer the dead last anymore so I won't be on a team with you  _or_ her. Based on my average grades... I think I'd be with Shino. He's stayed in the average grade group for the past few years, neither advancing or falling behind." Naruto nodded to himself, "I don't know about my other teammate though."

Sasuke shrugged, "I'm going to hate my team if Haruno is on it."

"Is it because she's one of your fangirls?" He questioned.

The black-haired boy nodded, sighing in annoyance, "She only cares about her appeal towards men – mostly me – than becoming an  _actual_  ninja. She deserves to fail."

"That's... kind of harsh. Maybe she'll change once she's a gennin?" Naruto asked.

"I doubt it." Sasuke shook his head, "If I'm on her team for display, she won't change."

"Have some faith in her, she might change with motivation." The blond-haired boy grinned.

"Unlikely."

"Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka called from the front of the class. The dark-haired boy waved at Naruto before walking out of the classroom with their teacher.

Fifteen minutes later, Mizuki walked in. He gave a grimace slightly, "Naruto Uzumaki." Said boy followed his teacher out of the classroom and into a different room.

The twelve-year-old looked around, noticing that the other teacher was missing, "Where's Iruka-sensei? Don't you do this test with two teachers present?"

"Yes." Mizuki suddenly gave a mocking grin, "An emergency came up so he instructed me to do the last test of the day by myself."

Naruto gulped, not liking that look in his teacher's eyes, "O-Okay, Mizuki-sensei."

The older man looked down at the clipboard, "Naruto, please create three effective clones."

His heart started to race.  _"T-That's my worst jutsu... I only get this right three out of ten times."_ Shaky hands started to pull into the hand signs,  _"Please work..."_ He squeezed his eyes shut in worry, hands flying to create three clones. A plume of smoke appeared around him.

"Naruto."

_"Kami, please..."_

"You fail." Mizuki's stern voice made his eyes fly open.

"I..." His words stopped as he saw the two dead clones and one unconscious one around him. Naruto nodded, walking out of the door without a headband on. His mood was soured as he walked outside, getting glares from those around. He could see children whispering and snickering, knowing that he failed. He quickly headed for the swing, desperately trying to get away from the attention.  _"I'm a capable ninja who has shown my effectiveness in medical ninjutsu and have powerful knowledge... but I can't even do a simple_ clone  _jutsu."_ Naruto looked down at the ground,  _"I'm a failure."_

"Naruto?" A soft voice seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

He looked up, eyes widening before he looked away at seeing the headband on the boy's arm, "Hey, Shikamaru..."

The black-haired boy gave him a worried look, noticing that he didn't have a headband, "What happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Naruto whispered out harshly, "I  _failed_. I'm not going to be able to be a gennin..."

"Mizuki?" Shikamaru questioned.

He nodded, feeling tears pricking his eyes, "I... I  _knew_ this w-would happen. I'm such an  _idiot_..."

Shikamaru placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, making him look up, "You're not an idiot, Naruto. You're an over-achiever and an unpredictable person. You're smarter than people give you credit for and you are determined. You have one of the strongest wills of fire I've seen from our generation."

A tear slid down from Naruto's face as he gave a grim smile, "T-Thanks... I needed that."

"Shikamaru!" A deep voice called from across the yard. The two boys looked up, seeing Shikaku Nara – Shikamaru's dad – standing there with his arms crossed.

Naruto whipped his tears away, "See you later?"

"Yeah, good luck." Shikamaru gave the boy a small smile before walking away.

 _"I'm still an idiot..."_ He thought grimly, noticing that children were starting to disappear with their families,  _"...and I'm alone."_ Naruto pulled out one of his notebooks, running his eyes over the notes he's taken over the years. He knew every word inside the little notebook, the information having been stored in his mind every time he read a line inside it. After what seemed like hours, Naruto could hear someone walking towards him. He looked up to see Mizuki with a small smile on his face. The blond-haired boy looked away from his teacher, putting back the notebook. "Hello, Mizuki-sensei..." He stated with a monotone voice.

"What are you still doing here?" He asked with a sickly-sweet voice.

Naruto tried hard not to grimace, "Um... Dr. Terra gave me the day off so I don't have to be at the hospital, plus, no one is waiting for me at home. I don't have to be anywhere... so..."

Mizuki held concern in his eyes, "Are you okay, Naruto?"

"Not really. I thought... I  _really_ thought that I could... you know, become a gennin." He whispered out, clutching the metal chains connected to the swing.

"You know," The teacher started out, leaning close and whispering secretively, "I know another way that you can become a gennin."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, trying not to let hope drive him insane, "Another way?"

"Yeah. Not many teachers tell students about it because, if not done correctly, it could get the student in trouble. However, I think you can do it." Mizuki smiled.

He looked down at his lap, "What is it?" There was a gleam in the older man's eyes, one that spoke of true evil, but Naruto hadn't noticed. He started to tell of this alternate way of becoming a gennin.

* * *

 

Iruka could feel his teeth grinding together in seething  _rage_. He could see the red of his anger boiling in his eyes as he raced towards where Mizuki had last seen Naruto. After what his childhood friend had told him about Naruto stealing the sacred scroll of sealing, he almost hadn't believed him. Iruka never would have thought that Naruto – of  _all_ people – would want to steal something like the sacred scroll of sealing. His student hadn't stolen anything in  _years_ , why start now? Iruka's only thought was to get the stolen scroll back and question Naruto's reasoning behind doing something so  _stupid._  He could get in serious trouble for doing this!

He appeared in a small clearing where Naruto stood in the middle, rolling up the scroll. Iruka was about to start yelling and screaming at the boy when Naruto looked up at him with one of the most innocent looks he'd ever had. "Can I be a gennin now?" Naruto's words were soft as he stood up from the ground, handing his teacher the scroll.

"What?!" The brunette had to do a double-take, the sacred scroll of sealing almost falling out of his hands.

"I didn't like stealing it but I... I failed my test, Iruka-sensei... Mizuki-sensei came to me after everyone left and said that there was an alternative way to become a gennin. He told me that I could become a gennin if I stole the sacred scroll of sealing and learn one jutsu from it." Naruto said, looking his teacher in the eye, "B-But... you don't look like you're about to give me a headband. You look like you're pissed off... Did I do something wrong? Am I  _not_ going to be able to be a gennin?"

"M-Mizuki?!" Iruka's eyes widened with realization. He quickly shoved his student out of the way, feeling several kunai piercing his body.

The blond-haired boy's eyes were wide with shock at seeing his teacher bloody, "I-Iruka-sensei?!" His hand glowed green as he was about to heal the brunette. Iruka held up a hand, effectively stopping the boy in his movements.

"I should have known..." The older man looked with narrowed eyes as Mizuki appeared on top of a tree branch, decked out with large shurikens on his back to be used at his disposable.

Mizuki grinned, "I'm going to need that scroll."

"W-What's going on here?! Why did you attack Iruka-sensei?!" Naruto felt panic start to rise in his chest.

"Naruto, catch!" The bloodied man beside him called out, throwing the sacred scroll of sealing towards him. The boy caught it easily, attaching it to his back. "Whatever you do,  _don't_  let Mizuki get the scroll!" Iruka called out, panting slightly, blood draining from his mouth, "It contains forbidden jutsu that could put this village in danger, do you understand?!"

"Y-Yeah..." He stated, starting to slowly back about from the clearing.

"Mizuki  _used_ you to get the scroll for himself. You need to get out of here and give the scroll back to Lord Third." He said, gritting his teeth in pain. The boy growled in betrayal, looking in between his two teachers.

Mizuki, noticing it, gave an evil smirk, "Naruto... Iruka is just trying to scare you because he doesn't want  _you_ to have the scroll."

"That's not true! You've been against me for  _years_. I should have  _known_ that you would do this... use me... like a tool." He looked away, clearly distraught, "You're going to pay for what you did to Iruka-sensei."

"A tool? Then you've already got part of the truth." The light-haired man started to cackle with laughter.

Iruka's eyes widened, "No, Mizuki!"

"You know, everyone's been lying to you your whole life. Using you... just like a  _tool_." He smirked.

"Using me? E-Everyone?" Naruto could hear his heart pounding in his ears while his eyes widened to a degree, "Y-You're lying..."

"It all happened twelve years ago on the day you were  _born_." Mizuki couldn't help but laugh at the distraught look on Iruka's face, "Everyone knows except you."

The blond-haired boy looked up at his teacher, "W-What happened?"

"I bet Iruka would do anything to shut me up right now." He laughed again, noticing the blood that kept spilling out of his childhood friend's mouth.

"Don't tell him, it's forbidden!" Iruka shouted out.

"It's forbidden to tell you that the nine-tailed fox that attacked Konoha twelve years ago is inside  _you_ , Naruto!" Mizuki grinned menacingly. His eyes widened as the world seemed to slow down, realization hitting him. "The fox that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed  _our_ village has taken over your body." He smirked, "You are the nine-tailed fox!"

Naruto stopped with a look of pure curiosity and awestruck appearing on his face. "No, I'm not." He stated with one of his matter-of-factly tone of voice, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, not a fox. Plus, even if I  _was_ a fox, I wouldn't the nine-tailed fox. It's illogical to think that way, Mizuki-sensei."

The light-haired man had to do a double-take, not expecting that from the boy. He growled, "You're not mad?! You not  _pissed_ at how the villagers have treated you like dirt your  _whole_ life and how you'll never be acknowledged?!"

"I'm not mad. The villagers don't – as you just put it – treat me like dirt anymore. Ever since I started volunteering at the hospital and helping the ANBU out, I'm being acknowledged and praised for what I'm doing." He smiled, "Why should I be mad?"

"Enough of this!" Mizuki finally growled out.

"NARUTO, GET DOWN!" Iruka shouted out. He did as he was told, closing his eyes before crouching low to the ground and covering his head. There was a slicing sound above him, something dripping on to his face.

He opened his eyes, "I-Iruka... sensei..." Tears started to collect in his eyes, noticing that large shuriken protruding out of him back. His teacher gave a ragged cough of blood, arms shaking. Naruto lifted his hands that started to glow green, trying to heal his teacher's wounds. Iruka grabbed both his hands with one of his own, giving him a small smile, "I-It's okay, Naruto. Y-You need to get o-out of here. Don't l-let Mizuki get the s-sacred scroll of s-sealing, okay?"

Naruto nodded, a tear draining from his eye, "Okay." He slipped out from underneath the brunette, standing on his two feet. "You better be alive by the time this is over so I can heal you." He stated firmly before running off into the woods with the scroll. Naruto ran as fast as he could, away from Mizuki and away from the danger. His mind was running a thousand thoughts per minute.  _"I need a place to hide before I go through all of them."_ He thought to himself, seeing a slightly larger tree with a massive overhang of leaves. Clambering up the tree with the scroll still attached to his back, Naruto made it on to a branch, overlooking a clearing.

"How did you know it was me?!" Mizuki's voice rang from beneath him.

Naruto's eyes widened in panic,  _"D-Did he already find me?!"_

"Because I'm Naruto." He turned just in time to see a henge of himself turn into Iruka.

From where Naruto was standing up high, he could see how much blood he was losing. He sucked in a breath,  _"Iruka-sensei..."_

"You're a fool. Why are you protecting that  _freak_?!" Mizuki hissed out, "He's the one who wiped out your family!"

Iruka gave a breathy chuckle, sliding against a tree for support, "I don't care  _what_ you say. You're not getting your hands on that scroll."

His friend laughed, "As if  _you_ could stop me. Don't you get it, Naruto is just like  _me_!"

The brunette tried hard not to roll his eyes, "How's that?"

"He wants the scroll for his own power, that's how beasts are. He'll power all his negative emotions into the scroll and destroy everything!" He growled out.

"You're such an idiot." Iruka mumbled, making Naruto try hard not to snicker, "Naruto is  _nothing_ like that. For almost  _five_ years, he's been training to better his power to  _help_ people, not  _destroy_ them. He's one of a kind, works hard for the things he likes. He puts his whole heart into it and always strives to be better, not just in strength or power, but in his morals and kindness towards others. He's not a beast and he never will be. He is Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure!"

Naruto couldn't help the tears that fell from his face.  _"I-I-Iruka-sensei..."_ He covered his eyes with his hands as he cried hopeful tears.  _"Y-You've done so much for me over the years. You were the first person to believe in me... to help me. Thank you so much, Iruka-sensei."_ He whipped his tears, standing up on his two feet,  _"But now, it's time to repay the favor."_

"I was going to save you for later, Iruka, but you're finished!" Mizuki shouted out, spinning a giant shuriken in his hands. He swung it forward, the shuriken spinning at a fast rate towards the downed man.

Naruto stepped in front of his teacher, hands glowing blue as he swiped down on the shuriken. It split apart, twisting in opposite directions of the boy. He held an aggressive face; narrowed eyes and a low growl in his throat, "Iruka-sensei, what did I  _just_ say about staying alive?"

The brunette's eyes widened, "N-Naruto?!"

He looked at the downed man, smiling slightly, "You're supposed to stay alive so that I can heal you, remember? You're going to be fine, Iruka-sensei, I promise."

"Not bad..." Mizuki chuckled in front of him, "...for a beast!"

Naruto turned his attention back on to the traitor, handing Iruka the scroll, "If you dare lay another hand on my sensei, I swear, you're demise will not be pretty."

"Such big words. I could destroy you with a single move!" His opponent shouted out.

"Same goes for you. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted out, hundreds upon hundreds of clones seeming to appear out of nowhere, "While my purposes as a medic-in-training are to save lives, you are a special case and because you are a special case, that means I don't have to hold back on you." The clones started to cheer, handing glowing a deep blue as they all launched into action. They started slicing up their former teacher, making sure not to hit spots that would likely kill the man. While his clones were busy, Naruto turned around and walked towards his teacher. He squatted down, "Are you doing okay?"

"Never been better." Iruka grinned sheepishly, "You're really amazing, you know that, right?"

He smiled, hands glowing green as he started to heal the older man, "I guess I'm pretty cool." The anguished cry of Mizuki filled the clearing as he passed out. Several of the clones dragged him over to Naruto before dispelling. There were several cuts littering his body, blood pooling around the traitor. "He might need medical attention, but he can wait," Naruto stated, looking down at his hands as the healed his teacher.

Iruka gave the boy a small smile, "You okay?"

"Mizuki-sensei is stupid." He said, staring into his teacher's eyes.

He chuckled, "Yeah. By the way, you've gotten better."

"Thanks. I've learned a lot from volunteering at the hospital." Naruto smiled slightly, "I've healed all of your external and internal wounds, however, you shouldn't move around a lot because you are definitely going to feel sore."

Iruka nodded, the blond-haired boy helping him stand up, "We should probably head to the Hokage's office to explain the situation."

"Yeah... you don't think I'll get in trouble, right?" Naruto whispered out, putting the brunette's arm over his shoulders. He summoned two clones, one to carry Mizuki and the other to heal the traitor so that he didn't die from blood loss before he could be persecuted. They started to walk towards the Hokage tower.

He shook his head, "You were able to single-handedly defeat a traitor so, I think that'll come into play."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He smiled, "You know I'm proud of you, right?" Naruto nodded with a bright smile on his face. Iruka smiled back, "Good!"

* * *

 

"Take the traitor to T&I for questioning." The Third Hokage stated sternly, Mizuki narrowing his eyes at Iruka and Naruto. He was pulled away, spouting words about a demon and how they'll all regret this. Hiruzen sighed, nodding for an ANBU member to take the sacred scroll of sealing away. He turned towards the two in front of him, "Iruka Umino, Naruto Uzumaki. As Third Hokage, I thank you for taking down a traitor who could have brought terrible danger towards our village."

"Lord Third, if I may." Iruka stepped forward, getting a nod from Hiruzen, "I had no part in taking down Mizuki; it was all Naruto's doing. He single-handedly beat Mizuki. I was just there to witness everything."

"Really?" The Third Hokage hummed, inhaling the smoke from his pipe, eyes settling on the nervous boy before him, "Naruto, is this true?"

He nodded shyly, "Y-Yeah, Jiji..."

Hiruzen sighed, "And you know about your status as Jinchuriki?"

"Is that what I'm called? A Jinchuriki?" Naruto questioned, staring into the older man's eyes.

"Yes. A Jinchuriki is a person who has a demon sealed inside of them. Twelve years ago, when the nine-tailed fox attacked the village, the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into a new born baby... which is you." He stated, "But that does not make you the fox."

"Oh, I know that much." He stated in that matter-of-factly tone he's gotten ever since volunteering at the hospital, "It's illogical to think that  _I'm_ a fox. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, not the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Hiruzen smiled, "That's good to hear. However, there is another matter that we must discuss."

The twelve-year-old boy raised an eyebrow, "Am I in trouble?"

"No, you're not in trouble. The matter I wish to discuss is about you becoming a gennin." Naruto's eyes went wide, "Shikaku Nara came to me a few weeks ago with startling information about Mizuki."

"What type of information?" He cocked his head to the side.

"While we've only just noticed now, he's been after you for a while. Shikaku is guessing that before he used you to get the scroll, he changed all of your grades." The Third Hokage said.

Grief seemed to fall over Naruto's face, instantly realizing what happened, "I'm the dead last now... aren't I?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I will probably take almost a week to change back  _all_  your grades. When you're being placed on a team tomorrow, you will be the dead last of the class but that is because we can't change the scores now." Hiruzen sighed, "I apologize, Naruto."

Naruto looked down, "It's fine, Jiji. At least I know I'll be on a team with Sasuke and Sakura... we kind of get along."

He nodded, the door clicking open, "Ah, Shikaku, it's nice of you to join us."

The blond-haired boy turned to face the taller man and smiled, bowing slightly, "Thank you for telling Jiji about what Mizuki-sensei did..."

"Well, I overheard you and Shikamaru talking about the graduation exams and Mizuki's hatred for you, I couldn't help myself and dive deeper." He shrugged, "By the way, Shikamaru's looking for you."

"He is?" Naruto blinked.

"Yeah, wanted to make sure you're okay or something like that." Shikaku stated, "I think he's at Ichiraku's Ramen or that barbecue place he and Choji go."

The twelve-year-old turned towards Hiruzen, "Can I go?"

He nodded, "Have fun."

"Don't stay up too late, Naruto." Iruka smiled, "But before you go, catch!" The teacher took off his headband before throwing it towards Naruto.

He caught it easily, smiling down at the headband, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" With that, he rushed out of the Hokage's office and towards Ichiraku's Ramen for some late night dinner with a good friend of his.


	9. Becoming Gennins

"Shikamaru?" The soft voice caught the Nara heir off guard for a second, head spinning around to see Naruto standing right behind him with a somber look on his face.

"Hey." He gave his friend a soft smile, "You want something to eat?" The blond-haired boy nodded his head slightly, taking a seat in front of him. Shikamaru raised his hand in the air, catching the attention of one of the waitresses in the BBQ restaurant they were at. The two gennins ordered their food quickly, the waitress leaving almost immediately after they'd said what they wanted. The dark-haired boy looked up, "Naruto?"

"Hm?" He hummed out, glazed eyes staring into black ones.

"You've been pretty quiet for a little bit. You doing alright?" Shikamaru questioned softly.

Naruto blinked his eyes quickly, feeling tears rising to the surface, "I... I don't know, honestly."

The Nara heir sighed internally, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He rubbed his eyes, "Kind of."

"Well, then go ahead. I'm listening." Shikamaru gave him an encouraging smile.

"I was stupid... and naïve. I don't know why I could have ever trusted Mizuki-sensei even after everything he did to me. Maybe it was because I was so desperate to become a gennin... that I just  _had_ to..." His voice trailed off, a lump growing in his throat.

The black-haired gennin in front of him blinked, "Had to do what?"

"Mizuki-sensei said that there was another way to become a gennin... He said t-that if I steal the sacred scroll of sealing that I could become a gennin." Naruto could feel his bottom lip quivering, "I should be arrested and sentenced to death for doing something so  _stupid_ like that... b-but I  _really_ wanted to be a gennin."

"Mizuki-sensei tricked you, Naruto, it's not your fault," Shikamaru stated.

"But it  _is_!" His voice raised slightly, "It's my fault for believing him a-and... and..." Naruto stopped, tears in his eyes. "It's my fault for almost getting Iruka-sensei killed... for putting him in danger and for being stupid."

"Naruto..." He wasn't sure what to say, what to do to help his friend who felt so guilty.

"He kept taking the hits for me, pushing me out of the way so I wouldn't get hurt. Mizuki-sensei was going to kill the both of us then. He was going to take the scroll – that I stole – and kill us before fleeing Konohagakure." A single tear slid down his face, "I'm guilty but I'm not being charged for anything. I'm practically a criminal yet... they're telling me that I'm not in trouble. How can I believe that when I  _did_ do something that deserves death?"

Shikamaru stood up, walked around the other side of the booth, and slid in beside the blond-haired boy. He wrapped his arms around him and squeezed slightly. Silent tears started to leave the boy's eyes as he clung to the Nara heir. Shikamaru sighed slightly. He wasn't good at helping people when they were emotionally distraught. He wasn't good at telling them that everything was okay when it most likely wasn't. He wasn't good at being there for someone, but he would do it for him. For Naruto. "Hey, listen. I know things are tough right now and you think that it's all your fault, but you can't think like that. All this stress you're putting on yourself wouldn't be good for your heart, that much I learned from you. You can't keep berating yourself over something that you did or else you'll be living in the past for the rest of your life." Shikamaru heard a few sniffles as Naruto looked up at him, "From what I'm guessing, you kicked Mizuki-sensei's ass and saved Iruka-sensei. You did a good job. You stopped a traitor and saved a teammate, a friend. Isn't that what you live by as a medic-in-training, saving lives and stopping evil? You're not alone, Naruto."

The blond-haired boy nodded, leaning away from the hug to properly wipe away his tears. Shikamaru moved to go sit back in his previous seat, finding Naruto smiling at him. He returned the gesture. "Thanks." Naruto finally said after a few seconds, "I needed that."

He shrugged, "You going to be okay now?"

The other boy nodded, "I think so."

"So," Shikamaru smirked, "I guess this means you're a gennin now?"

Naruto giggled, "Yeah, Iruka-sensei gave me his headband."

"I'm glad." He stated, smirk turning into a soft smile.

"Me too."

* * *

 

**The Next Day...**

"So, you're going to be on a team with that brooding asshat and one of the biggest fangirls in the class?" Shikamaru had a look of disdain on his face.

Naruto nodded as the two walked towards the academy together, "Yeah, hopefully, those two can get along long enough for us to get something done."

"You're going to have your hands full with those two." He sighed, "How troublesome..."

"Yeah. If I don't get out of this sane, then it's because of those two." The two shared a laugh, "Though, it would seem that Sasuke and I are getting along pretty well."

The Nara heir blinked in surprise, "Really? Seems kind of hard to believe that since he doesn't say much in class and likes to be antisocial."

Naruto thought for a second before shrugging, "He looks pretty relaxed around me. Maybe it's because I'm a medic."

"Medic-in-training." Shikamaru corrected.

The blond-haired boy rolled his eyes, "Right, medic-in- _training_. By the way, thanks for letting me spend the night."

"It was already late when we ate at that BBQ place. Just figured that since you just had to go through the heartache of not being able to be a gennin, have to learn a new jutsu from the sacred scroll of sealing, then learn that it was all in vain, battling a traitor, having to heal Iruka to make sure he didn't die... I just thought that you'd probably want to go to sleep as quickly as possible." Shikamaru shrugged, "Since my compound was closer, I just thought that it was the most logical way to go about the situation instead of having you walk all the way home."

Naruto laughed, rubbing his neck sheepishly, "Well, thanks anyway."

"You're welcome." The other boy lets a smile grace his features. They walked in silence the rest of the way. Once appearing before the academy gates, Shikamaru let out a relieved sigh, "I'm so happy that we're finally getting out of here."

The blond-haired boy smiled, "You know, thinking back on it, I wonder who I would have become had I not took a liking to medical ninjutsu..."

"You sound like an old person." The Nara heir rolled his eyes, the two walking towards the doors of the academy.

Naruto chuckled, "I don't mean to be. I just can't help but think back to who I used to be. I was the dead last, a naïve fool, a prankster, an obnoxious idiot, loudmouthed brat..." He trailed off after those words. He looked up, seeing Shikamaru staring at him with curious eyes, waiting for him to continue. The medic-in-training stared into his friend's dark eyes with softness grazing his features, "Who do you think I would have become had I not decided to get into medical ninjutsu?"

He thought for a second as they walked down the hallways, "Well, based on your past history, I think you'd probably  _still_ be dead last. You'd probably gain a temper and not be as logical as you are now. You wouldn't know the meaning of quiet or find when a situation calls for seriousness. You'd most definitely still be a prankster."

"Would you still be friends with me had I become  _that_ person?" The Jinchuriki questioned with wide eyes.

Shikamaru's smile widened, "Always."

Naruto felt his heart fluttering in his chest, watching the boy turn away as they walked into the classroom. He could feel his cheeks heating up.  _"What was that?"_ He thought to himself, taking deep breaths to slow his ever-racing heart before following Shikamaru into the classroom. The other students started to give him a weird look as he climbed the steps to get to his seat, whispering collecting around him. The blond-haired boy shied away from them slightly, taking a seat beside the Nara boy. He leaned in close, whispering low in Shikamaru's ear, "They're talking about me, aren't they?"

He leaned back, keep his voice quiet, "Well yeah. They saw that you came out of the building without a headband on and now you're walking in with one."

"Oh... What do I do?" Naruto questioned, trying not to look anyone directly in the eye.

"Not sure, just try to ignore them, I guess?" Shikamaru shrugged, "If they ask, just tell them the truth."

"But I'm not supposed to, you idiot!" He hissed back quietly, "You and your dad are the only ones who know besides Jiji, Iruka-sensei, and some of those ANBU guys."

He gave him an exasperated look, sighing loudly, "Troublesome boy. I don't know what to tell you then."

Naruto huffed, leaning back in his seat, "I'll just make something up."

"You're not very good at that," Shikamaru stated bluntly, placing his head in his arms for a quick nap of sorts.

Naruto sighed, looking around the room. The weird looks had stopped but the whispering had continued. He pouted, accidentally making eye contact with Sasuke from across the room. The Uchiha boy was giving him a strange look; it was almost a glare. 'What?' He mouths.

Sasuke furrowed his brows, pointing to his forehead where his Konoha headband was before pointing at the other boy, 'How?'

Naruto looked around the room before settling on a different word, 'Later.' The dark-haired boy just nodded in acceptance before turning back to brooding or whatever he does.

"You're going to get in trouble if you keep doing that." Shikamaru let out a stifled yawn, "You literally just told me that you weren't allowed to tell anyone."

"I'm not going to tell him the  _whole_ truth... just a little with a few half-truths." He chuckled quietly.

He rolled his eyes, "You're so troublesome some times."

Naruto gave an exasperated sigh, "You know, you need a new catch phrase."

Shikamaru gave a strangled chuckle, "Yeah, that's not happening."

"Alright everyone, settle down." Iruka's voice came from the front, eyes watching him as he entered the room. The brunette stared at Naruto, smiling slightly before grabbing the clipboard that was on top of his desk. "I want to take the time before I assign you your teams to tell you all something. I am so very proud of every single one of you. As your teacher, I've watched you all grow into such capable ninjas. Whether your specialty lies within your knowledge, your brute strength, or your talents." He grinned, "You've all come so far and it saddens me to see you off after all these we've spent together. However, as the next generation in the world of ninja, you will rise to great heights. Never forget your origins and always keep growing. I believe in you." Iruka took the time then to look each of his students in the eye, seeing a will of fire burning deep within them all. "Now, on to the teams for this year. Team 1..." His voice trailed off, glancing down at his clipboard before starting to relay the information given to him by the Third Hokage.

Naruto elbowed Shikamaru in the ribs, chuckling quietly, "Iruka-sensei's gotten better about giving motivational speeches."

The Nara heir rolled his eyes, just smirking, "Maybe."

"So, how do you think the second coming of the Ino-Shika-Cho team going to go?" The blond-haired boy suddenly asked, finding more entertainment by talking to his friend than listening to Iruka.

He thought for a second, "Well, I think breaking Ino's fascination with Sasuke will be tricky and both Choji and I are extremely lazy so... um-"

"You think you're going to suck?" He raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru almost choked on his laugh, giving his friend a side-ways glance, "Not if we're motivated enough."

"Enough?" Naruto smirked slyly.

"Ino's only motivation – for now, I hope – is Sasuke so our sensei will most likely use that to keep her going. Choji loves food so our sensei's probably going to make food a reward for doing something like a mission." The black-haired boy shrugged.

He scooted closer, subconsciously hearing Iruka giving out the team's, "What about you? What motivates  _you_?"

"Shogi..." Shikamaru tapped his chin in thought, "Mainly shogi. Hopefully, my sensei knows how to play."

"Really? Just shogi?" Naruto had this deadpan look on his face, "Or are you just too lazy to think of any more?"

"No, it's just that you're not on my team so I can't list anymore." He stated honestly, shrugging again.

"Oh." Naruto blinked in surprise, pouting slightly, "I... motivate you?"

The black-haired boy sighed in exasperation, "Well,  _yeah_! Your hobby turned into an aspiration. You have a dream. You're hard-working; a workaholic if you ask me. You went from dead last to top ten in the class in just a few months on your own time. You battled a traitor and  _won._  So, yeah... in a sense, you motivate me to be better. You're very inspiring."

A blush started to crawl on the boy's face, a smile breaking out by the compliments, "Wow, Shikamaru... that's so kind of you to say."

"Well, it's true." He huffed in embarrassment, "Troublesome brat."

"Team 7 will consist of Sasuke Uchiha..." The two boys turned their heads, looking down at brooding boy at the front of the classroom, "Sakura Haruno and-" Iruka had to stop by the squeal of delight coming from the pink-haired girl.

"I feel bad for you," Shikamaru whispered into his friend's ear as Sakura starting to gloat about Sasuke being on her team.

"I hope that changes when we get on a team." He responded back, pouting slightly.

Iruka waited a few seconds before continuing again, "And Naruto Uzumaki. You three will be on a team under Kakashi Hatake."

"What?" Sakura's loud voice flooded the room. It wasn't a screech or a squeal. It was just a curious or disbelief voice that was said louder. She cocked her head turning to look at the blond-haired boy in the back, "Naruto? On a team with  _Sasuke_?" The pink-haired girl looked completely baffled, but not in an angry way which surprised Ino who was sitting beside her. In hindsight, everyone else in the classroom did. Sasuke had this look on his face that was questioning why Naruto was on a team with him. They shared a look for a second before the black-haired boy turned away. He would get his answers later.

Iruka coughed, grabbing everyone's attention. "Team 8 will consist of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Akamaru. You four will be a team under Kurenai Yūhi."

"Aw yeah! Guess we're on the same team, Hinata!" Kiba grinned widely, looping an arm around the shy girl's shoulder.

She gave a wary blush of surprise, turning away from him and his dog, "Y-Yeah, guess s-so..."

"Team 9 will consist of..." The brunette teacher's voice trailed off as he continued saying his students' names, "Team 10 will consist of Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka. You three will be a team under Asuma Sarutobi."

"Asuma?" Naruto held this curious look on his face.

His black-haired friend turned towards him, "What is it?"

"I know who that is." He suddenly said with wide eyes, turning to look into Shikamaru's eyes.

"Really? Know anything about him?" He questioned.

Naruto nodded, "He's Jiji's son."

It was now Shikamaru's turn to suddenly look as curious as he felt, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I've only met him a few times and he seems like a pretty cool guy." He stated.

"Does he play shogi?" The other boy questioned.

Naruto nodded, "He's a big shogi player, he's the one who taught me how to play."

"Really?"

He nodded once more, "However, I've got to ask, do you have a problem with smokers?"

"What?"

"Smokers, you know. Asuma's a big smoker so I was asking that because if you did have a problem with being around people who smoke... well, then you're out of luck." Naruto looked at him with slightly widened eyes.

Shikamaru thought for a second, "No. Dad's smoked a few times so I don't really mind being around it, I guess."

"Well, in that case, you better not become a smoker." He huffed, "Smoking is bad for you. Did you know that 84% of deaths from lung cancer are caused by smoking? Did you also know that smoking can give people chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which has led to 83% of deaths?" The Nara heir shook his head slowly. In his eyes, Naruto suddenly looked like a doctor at the hospital who was chastising someone about keeping better health, "By smoking, your lungs can be affected extremely badly. Smoking can make you cough, have colds, start wheezing, or even get asthma because of it. You can get diseases like pneumonia, emphysema and even lung cancer. So, unless you want a quick death, no smoking."

He nodded, "Yeah, cancer and diseases don't sound that appeasing."

"Good and since your Asuma's student, can you tell him that? As a medic-in-training, I know what I'm talking about." Naruto crossed his arms, a thoughtful look crossing his face, "Hm... I've got to tell Jiji that too. He's already old and smoking is most definitely bad for his health."

"Maybe you can tell him that when you get your first D-ranked mission." Shikamaru shrugged.

He nodded, determination spreading through him, "I will do just that!"

"Alright everyone, settle down!" Iruka yelled from the front, "Your new teachers will come by to get you in a little while." He walked out of the room, most likely to report something in. Bickering started to go about the room, people standing up to go sit by their teammates.

"We should probably be doing the same." Shikamaru mumbled, "I know Ino and Choji but you're not  _that_ familiar with how Sasuke and Sakura work."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. You don't think they'll be mean to me, right?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, "I don't talk to them."

"Right." He sighed, the two standing up, "Want to meet up later for something to eat?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah, it's your turn to pick the place and you're paying this time. I paid last night."

He smiled, "Yeah, yeah. I hear you. See you later."

"Later." The black-haired boy waved, walking down the steps to sit with Ino and Choji. Seems like they had the same idea.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke and Sakura who were on the opposite side of the room. The Uchiha looked like he was about to explode in frustration, Sakura talking his ear off like she'd done so many times before. He internally chuckled, sitting down on the opposite side of Sasuke, "Hey."

Sakura stopped talking, blinking curiously, "Oh, hey..."

The previously brooding boy visibly relaxed, giving him a sideways look, "Naruto."

"Yeah?" He titled his head questioningly.

"Why are you on the team?" It didn't seem hostile, more of a curious statement, "I'm the Rookie of this class. Haruno is the top kunoichi of the class. We're on a team together so, to make the team averaged out, we were  _supposed_ to be stuck with the dead last which is dog breath of there." He pointed at Kiba messing around with Akamaru. Sasuke suddenly jabbed the blond-haired boy in the chest. Naruto stared him in the eye. " _You_  are  _not_ the dead last. You're in the top ten so why are  _you-_ " There was another jab, "-on this team?"

Sakura suddenly blinked in surprise, "Sasuke-kun's right! You and Kiba should have been swapped."

Naruto sighed, "All my grades were changed by um...  _someone_ who didn't want me to succeed academically."

"Changed?" His pink-haired teammate asked, eyes wide like an owl's.

"Yeah. They changed all my grades so that it'd make me appear to be the dead last. So, in all the records, I'm now the dead last of our class. While it's in the process of being changed, I have to be on this team since, in a sense, I am the dead last now." He shrugged.

"Who did it?" Sasuke questioned.

His heart stuttered. "I'm not sure. They're still investigating." Naruto stated smoothly, thanking his improvising skills that he'd gotten when he was still a prankster. The door opened, a man walking in and calling Team 2 to follow him. Three of the students hopped out of their seats and followed him out excitedly. All eyes were on them, watching with an inquisitive stare.

"Wait... Naruto, I have another question." Sakura suddenly blurted out. He raised an eyebrow, motioning for her to go on. "How did you become a gennin? When you walked out of the academy, you didn't have a headband and now you do?" She stated. Sasuke looked like he was wondering that too.

"Same guy messed with the scores of my exam and failed me, unrightfully so." He said. They nodded, accepting the answer. "So," Naruto started, heads turning to look at him, "I don't know anything about this Kakashi guy. What about you two?"

Sakura tapped her chin, "All I know is that he is kind of legendary but other than that, I don't know anything else about him."

"He was trained under the Fourth Hokage and was once an ANBU member." Sasuke stated, "Not much to go on, but that's all I know about him."

"Wow, that's really cool!" Naruto awed.

Over the next three hours, sensei after sensei was appearing at the door calling their students away. Shikamaru's team had been called about two hours ago, the black-haired boy giving Naruto a grin before disappearing. After a while, Team 7 suddenly realized that they were the only ones in the entire room. Luckily, they were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't really notice.

"Wait, you were the one to make those new pills that the ANBU's gotten their hands on?!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise, "My mom, she works on the council, and she was telling me about the success it's had. You seriously  _made_ those?!"

Naruto nodded with a sheepish grin on his face, "Y-Yeah, I did. It took a few months but now they're paying me to keep making more."

"Pills?" The Uchiha boy beside him suddenly questioned.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, these things are  _amazing_!" The pink-haired girl's eyes were wide with excitement, "They are the new and improved soldier pills that the ANBU are using during long missions. They haven't been released to the public yet, but when they do, Konoha will be the only village to have them!"

He turned to look at his blond-haired teammate, "New and improved soldier pills? How do they work?"

Naruto beamed in eagerness, pulling one from his pocket to show them, "Okay, so while they are similar to soldier pills since it gives the needed nutrients to the body so that it can keep going on for an extended amount of time. However, with  _my_  pills, you will be able to go on even  _longer_ than you could have with regular soldier pills."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Really? I doubt it."

"No, no, just listen." He chuckled at his reaction, "I'm not sure if either of you have had a soldier pill before but they simply taste  _awful_! Plus, the side effects can leave you at the point of unconsciousness due to complete exhaustion for ingesting one."

"Woah," Sakura mumbled.

"Yeah, so it isn't really worth the pain and it could also make them completely useless in a long-term fight like a war." He shrugged, "The good thing about the pill I made was that the side effects of ingesting one is just fatigue and hunger which all ninja have dealt with in their time. You can still move and the recovery time is amazing! My pill also lasts longer in the environment than a soldier pill. While it'll only last for a few weeks, mine with last for almost a month."

"How did you make it?" His pink-haired teammate inquired.

He thought for a second, ticking off the ingredients on his fingers, "Dried rice that's been turned into a fine powder, turmeric so that it can give the body necessary nutrients and vitamins, many different kinds of vegetables, certain vitamin and nutrient boosting seeds, powdered milk, water, coffee beans, and trace amount of healing chakra."

Sakura blinked, "Coffee beans?"

"Tastes better with them in it." He smiled.

"You put chakra into the pills?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto nodded, "My earlier drafts of the pill didn't contain any type of chakra. However, I read that the body, after ingesting a soldier pill, will sometimes forget about their wounds and fight as if they weren't wounded at all. This can lead to death or chakra exhaustion. So, I tried the make a pill that, once ingested, will release healing chakra into the body and heal them while making them fight at full capacity."

"And it works?" The Uchiha asked, plucking the pill out of Naruto's hand to examine it.

"Yep!"

"I still think you're bluffing." He stated honestly.

Naruto rolled his eyes, taking it back and putting it in a pouch, "Well, one day, we're going to be on a long mission where we are all exhausted and wounded. Only then will you know that I'm not bluffing."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, right."

Sakura looked in between the two before settling on staring at Naruto, "So, have you made anything else?"

"Not really, but I have some drafts for some things that I want to try out." He said.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Another type of pill but this time it's directly for boosting the amount of chakra you have and healing your wounds." Naruto stated, pulling out a notebook from his bag, "I brought it with me if you want to see." He flipped a few pages, skimming the page he was on before handing it to her. She grabbed it with nimble fingers, eyes following line after line. Naruto suddenly felt embarrassed by one of his former classmates turned teammates reading his notebook full of ideas, "I don't have much on it right now, so..."

"I don't really understand what most of this stuff means but it seems that you've done your research." She nodded a few times while reading before handing it back, supposedly done, "You seem to know what you're doing."

"I've been doing this since I was about eight." Naruto smiled, putting the book back in its rightful place.

"Impressive." Sakura smiled back, "Sasuke-kun, what do you think about it?"

"Hn." He looked away, "It's cool, I guess."

The door suddenly opened. Three heads turned to greet the man who they had been told was named Kakashi Hatake. The silver-haired man looked at them, "My first impression of you is... you're a bunch of weirdos. Meet me on the roof." With that, he disappeared.

"Weirdos? Really? That's  _all_ he could think of?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes, glaring at the spot where his teacher had stood.

"Come on, he's waiting for us." Sakura insisted walking out the door. After about seven minutes of walking up the stairs that led to the roof of the academy, they finally pulled open a door to reveal their sensei sitting on a rail on the opposite side of the roof. They walked over, sitting down on the bench that was in front of the railing. The three gennin looked expectantly up at him.

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves one at a time?" Kakashi started, looking extremely bored.

"Introduce ourselves?" The pink-haired girl in front of the man raised her eyebrows in question, "What are we supposed to say?"

"Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies." He shrugged, "Things like that."

Naruto crossed his arms and leaned back slightly, "Why don't you introduce yourself first? We know a little bit about each other but we have no idea who  _you_  are."

Their teacher nodded slightly, "Alright. I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like, things I hate, well... I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... hm, never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, well, I have lots of hobbies."

Sakura turned to the blond-haired boy, her voice low, "That was totally  _useless_. All he really told us was his name." Naruto nodded in slight aggravation.

"Okay, you, the pink-haired girl. You go next." The silver-haired man nodded in her direction.

"Well, I'm Sakura Haruno. What I like – no,  _who_ I like is um..." Her eyes fluttered to Sasuke sitting next to her before she gained her bearings, "Um... my hobbies are um... well, uh..." She tried not to look in the Uchiha's way, but she couldn't help herself. "M-My dream for the future is to um..." Her face started to turn pink, shutting her eyes as to not look at the god sitting next to her. Sakura looked as if she'd squeal or faint, or both.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "And what do you hate?"

"I hate-" Sakura stopped, eyes flickering to Naruto. She used to say to everyone that she hated the blond-haired boy because he had a stupid crush on her back in the academy. However, that didn't seem to be the case anymore. He wasn't loud and obnoxious like he was back then and he no longer bothered her unnecessarily. He was smarter and could read people now. Sakura didn't have the heart to say that she hated him. Instead, however... "-Ino-pig!" She finished boldly, the words sounding like poison on her lips.

 _"Girls these days are more interested in chasing guys than actual ninja training."_ Kakashi thought, internally sighing,  _"Though, for a second there, I thought she was going to say his name for a second."_ His eyes fell on to the Uchiha directly in front of him, "You're next, kid."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I  _hate_ a lot of things and I don't particularly like  _anything_. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a  _reality_." His words sounded forceful and full of hate, "I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain  _someone_."

Naruto sighed slightly,  _"Shikamaru, I might have to take back what I said about my team."_

Sakura felt her cheeks turn red,  _"Sasuke is_ so  _hot!"_

 _"Just as I thought..."_ The Jonnin thought to himself, eyeing his student warily, "Alright, last one."

"Okay, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. In reality, there isn't a lot I dislike except not being able to help everyone to the best of my ability and letting people die on my watch. However, I do like a whole lot of things. Iruka-sensei, Jiji... I mean the Third Hokage, hanging out with Shikamaru, playing shogi with Shikamaru, volunteering at the hospital, working with Dr. Terra and Dr. Yiruma at the hospital, researching, medical ninjutsu, saving lives, and um... I'll stop there. I'll bore you death with how many things I like." He gave a laugh, trying to lighten the mood a little bit, "My hobbies include researching because I like it so much, reading to pass the time, asking Dr. Terra questions to further my research, volunteering at the hospital, playing shogi with Shikamaru, and practicing medical ninjutsu. I used to want to be Hokage but I'm kind of looking at other alternatives like being the head medic at the hospital or a Jonnin sensei."

Kakashi felt surprised by the information and complete honesty the boy portrayed,  _"Wow, he's grown up in a very interesting way."_ He looked at each one with a calculating eye. "Good. You're each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." The Jonnin stated.

"What kind of mission will we be having tomorrow?" Naruto asked, wondering if his medical ninjutsu could be used.

"It's a task that the four of us will do together." He said in that bored tone of voice his students were starting to get used to.

Sakura cocked her head to the side, "Like what, Kakashi-sensei?"

"A survival exercise," Kakashi said with slight seriousness in his voice.

Naruto looked kind of pleased,  _"I can_ definitely  _use medical ninjutsu in a survival exercise."_

"I thought we were supposed to have a  _real_  mission, not more  _practice_." Sakura huffed slightly, "We already did this kind of stuff in the academy. That's how we got here."

Kakashi shook his head slightly, "This is not like your previous training."

"What kind of training is it then?" The blond-haired boy was suddenly feeling very interested and excited. He'd finally be able to use his medical ninjutsu in something other than practice and spars. From the way Kakashi was talking, it sounded much more like an extended kind of spar with a reward at the end.

Instead of answering right away, their teacher gave this deep chuckle. The three kids looked on with curiosity. Sakura's curiosity turned to frustration, poking her lip out in a pout, "Hey, that was a normal question to ask. What's so funny?"

Kakashi let out another string of chuckles before finally sighing, "Well, if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it."

"What is it?" The pink-haired girl questioned.

"Of the twenty-seven graduates who came here, only nine will actually be accepted as gennins. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy." Utmost seriousness now grazed their teacher's face, "In other words, this is a make-it or break-it pass-fail kind of test and the chance that you'll fail is at  _least_ 66% percent." The look of pure horror on Sakura's face almost made Kakashi laugh. While Sasuke didn't make any type of disgruntled noise like his teammate did, worry did cloud the boy's eyes. Kakashi turned to Naruto who only held a thoughtful look on his face.

The boy hummed for a second or two before pouting, "Yeah, I don't like that."

"See, didn't I tell you?" Kakashi smirked under his mask.

"Well, yeah, I can see  _why_  you said that but, you know, there is still a 34% chance that we'll pass." Naruto shrugged, "I mean, why try and put us down yet if you haven't even seen what we can do."

Sasuke looked at his teammate with an inquisitive eye,  _"A 34% chance of passing. While it isn't a number that I'd like to dwell on, it means that we can still pass."_

Sakura blinked in shock, "Naruto's right."

"Listen, the graduation exam was to select candidates who might become gennin... or not." Kakashi shrugged, "It's just how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five in the morning tomorrow and bring your ninja gear." Their teacher stood up, putting his back to them. "That's it for now. You're all dismissed." He waved, "Oh, tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else you'll puke." With that, he disappeared again.

After a few seconds, Naruto stood up, "He's stupid."

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed, shocked by his words, "What are you talking about, Naruto?!"

"You two need to listen. While he is most definitely been a ninja longer than the three of us and therefore has more experience when saying something like 'don't eat or you'll throw up'. However, I'm a medic-in-training and I know my stuff." He stated, looking between the two, "What I'm trying to say is that you two should  _defiantly_ eat something tomorrow before we start the training exercise. Your body needs nutrients to sustain a battle of some sorts and without it, you'll be too tried to do anything worthwhile. We need to be able to handle anything if we all want to be gennin!"

The pink-haired girl stood up quickly, "You're telling us to go against Kakashi-sensei's words?"

"Yes, but only because I want us all to do our best and become gennin. I don't want to be sent back to the academy after all I've done to just get to this point in time and it seems like you two share the same mindset." He smiled brightly, "I'd love to stay and chat about this longer, but Shikamaru and I were going to hang out a little bit. See you two tomorrow. Good luck!"


	10. We're Team 7

The next morning, Naruto found himself walking through the woods of training grounds seven. This training ground was the designated area for Team 7 to meet up at for their survival exercise. He was almost an hour late due to him deciding to eat something before arriving at the training grounds; energy seemed more important than throwing up, to him at least. He appeared in the clearing, noticing three logs standing up vertically in the center. To the left, Naruto could see both of his teammates sitting against a rather large tree. While Sasuke looked completely annoyed, Sakura kept talking his ear off – albeit with a slurred vocabulary – which caused the blond-haired boy to chuckle quietly. "Good morning." He smiled, closing the distance between them, sitting down in front of them, "How'd you two sleep?"

"Naruto!" Sakura squeaked in surprize, "You're an hour late!"

He nodded, "I noticed."

"Why?!"

"Took the time to eat something before coming here. What about you two?" The twelve-year-old asked them, getting weird looks, "Did either of you eat something or did you come here on empty stomachs?"

"Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat." Sasuke stated suddenly, "We'd throw up if we did."

"Sasuke-kun's right and... I don't want to throw up." The pink-haired girl said.

He sighed, pulling out two boxes from his bag, "You need to eat."

"Excuse me?" The shocked voice of the Uchiha's flooded the area.

"I suspected that you two wouldn't eat anything." He put a box in each of their laps, "I made you both something. Not only will it fill you up but it will give you enough needed nutrients. It passes through your system easily so the likeliness of you puking with  _that_ in your system is unlikely. Trust me."

Sakura was the first to pull back the lid, the content's aroma filling her mouth. Her stomach made an undignified noise, a blush appearing on her face. "This... smells  _really_ good." She stated, grabbing wooden chopsticks that were placed on the side of the container. Pulling them apart, Sakura started to eat slowly.

Sasuke looked down at his own box. After a few seconds, he sighed and started to work on eating his own. He looked up at Naruto, seeing a soft smile on his face. "What?" He asked with a harsh tone of voice.

"Nothing." He put up his hands in defense, the smile never leaving his face.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, going back to eating, "Whatever."

"So... we won't throw up after eating this?" Sakura asked, still wary, "Right?"

"Nope. I put a little bit of turmeric in it so that you will have a smooth digestive ride and have more than enough nutrients." He grinned.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Turmeric? What the hell is that?"

"Turmeric is a special type of herb that's found in countries like Water and Lightning. It needs lots of heat and rain to be sustained. It's been imported into Konoha about forty years ago for medicinal and culinary uses." Naruto stated, "It'll help you two out."

"How can it be used for medicinal purposes?" Sakura questioned, nearly halfway done with her food.

"Well, turmeric is supposedly  _the_  most powerful herb on the planet since it's able to fight and potentially reverse diseases... it could also be because it has so many healing properties. The list of all the things that turmeric can be used for is just astounding! It can be used for the following things: Alzheimer's disease, anterior uveitis which is basically swelling in the middle layer of the eye, arthritis, bronchitis, bypass surgery, cancers, colds, Crohn's disease, depression, diabetes, diarrhea, dyspepsia or more widely known as heartburn, fatigue, fever, fibromyalgia, gallbladder disorders, headaches, Helicobacter pylori infection, hemorrhage, high cholesterol, intestinal gas, irritable bowel syndrome, itchy skin, jaundice, joint pain, kidney problems, leprosy, lichen planus which is a skin condition, liver problems, loss of appetite, lung infections, menstrual problems, recovery after surgery, skin inflammation from radiation treatment, stomach bloating, stomach pain, stomach ulcers, systemic lupus erythematosus which is an autoimmune disease, tuberculosis, ulcerative colitis, urinary bladder inflammation, water retention, and worms."

His two teammates blinked in surprize. Sasuke was the first to speak up, "What are you, a walking medical encyclopedia?"

"I take that as a compliment." Naruto laughed, "However, there are a few more things turmeric can be used for. Did you know that you can apply it to the skin? When doing that, it can be used for acne, bruising, eye infections, gum disease, infected wounds, inflammatory skin conditions, leech bites, pain, ringworm, skin sores, soreness inside of the mouth, sprains, and swelling."

"Are there any side effects of having turmeric?" Sakura asked, not even going to ask as to  _why_ Naruto knows all this stuff about the herb.

"There are a few side effects, however, you two won't experience them since I gave you such a small dose of turmeric." The two nodded in relief as the boy continued with his knowledge about the herb, "There have been some reported cases where there have been allergic reactions to it. The reaction is usually a mild and itchy rash but you two seem fine. However, had I given you a high dose of turmeric it would have caused diarrhea, hyperactive gallbladder contractions, hypotension or low blood pressure, increased liver function tests, increased menstrual flow, increased risk of bleeding, nausea, or uterine contractions in pregnant women but that doesn't apply to you two."

"You could have warned us about that before we started eating," Sasuke grunted.

The blond-haired boy sighed in exasperation, "I just said that you'll be fine. I didn't give you a high dosage."

The Uchiha glared at him, having already finished his food, "And why should we believe you? You could be pulling this out of your ass."

Naruto's grin suddenly fell from his face, "Sasuke, I am only going to say this once, do you understand?" An angry and shocked expression filled the other boy's face. Sakura looked in between her two teammates, trying to figure out what to do. "Do not  _ever_ doubt my abilities as a medic-in-training. I know what I'm talking about and you should be grateful to have some type of medic on your team. You look like a brawler; therefore, you're going to get hurt a  _lot_ and you're going to need me to heal you when you leave to lick your wounds." He stated passively aggressively, getting a low growl out of his dark-haired teammate, "I kept my mouth shut when you initially decided to doubt my knowledge, experience, and abilities while we were in the academy. However, as teammates on a gennin team, I can't keep up this façade like it doesn't hurt me. When it comes to this stuff, you're right about me being a walking medical encyclopedia. I  _know_ what I'm  _doing_. You'd do well to remember not to doubt someone before they've even gotten started."

"You're such a dobe." Sasuke huffed in frustration.

"Sasuke, that hasn't gotten a rouse out me in years. I'm not going to up and say 'Teme' like I used to. I'm not the obnoxious, naïve, and idiotic  _asshole_  I was before." He blinked, shoulders sagging, "Look, if we're going to be on a team together, we must come to an agreement of some sort. We don't have to be friends, but we should know that we've got each other's back. That goes for you too, Sakura." The pink-haired girl stared on with shock. "I know that you'll always be there for Sasuke because you are in love with him. However, we haven't had a proper conversation in  _years_  so I don't know if you'd be there for me if I need you. You should know that, as a medic-in-training, it is my duty to keep my comrades alive and well." Naruto gave the two a smile, "That means that I will  _always_ have both of your backs, no matter what."

The Uchiha sighed, "Fine. Whatever this survival exercise is, I'll keep an eye out for you two."

"And I'll help you two out however I can!" Sakura stated excitedly.

"Good." Naruto nodded, approvingly, "I promise that I won't let you down."

From a distance, high up in the treetops, Kakashi watched with an unconscious grin hidden behind his mask.  _"They've already decided to use teamwork and I haven't even said what the test will be."_ He internally chuckled,  _"We've definitely got a prodigy team this year."_

* * *

 

**Two hours later...**

"Good morning everyone, did you sleep well?" Kakashi gave the group an eye-smile, having finally appeared from supposedly out-of-nowhere. The three jumped at the intrusion before standing up to face him.

"Kakashi-sensei?! You're late!" Sakura squeaked out, rather loudly if you had asked her teammates.

"Yeah, we were getting pretty bored waiting on you." Naruto said, stretching his arms out, a pop coming from his back, "I hope this doesn't become a habit of yours, Kakashi-sensei."

The silver-haired Jonnin ignored the slightly condescending tone the blond-haired boy had given him. Instead of correcting him on his lack of respect to someone more experienced and older than him, he decided to give his genins a bored look, "You see, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way."

"Well, even if you had to take the long way, it wouldn't have taken you three hours to get here, Kakashi-sensei." The twelve-year-old boy stated in a matter-of-fact tone that he'd adopted a while ago, "You're probably just like Shikamaru, lazy... or a procrastinator."

"Ehm, well, that's up for debate." Kakashi gave his students another eye-smile, "Let's get started, shall we?" He walked over to one of the logs that were in the center of the clearing and placed a weird looking clock on it. "This clock will be set for noon; that gives you about four or five hours to complete your task." The Jonin said, clicking the button at the top of the clock.

Sasuke narrowed his dark eyes, "And what task is that?"

Pulling out two rather old looking bells from one of his pockets, Kakashi held them up in front of him at eye-level, "Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it. If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch and you'll be tied to those posts." Kakashi pointed at the logs in the center of the clearing where the clock was at. They followed his stare before going back to looking at their teacher once he had put his hand down. "While tied up, you will watch me eat  _my_ lunch in front of you." He gave the three an eye-smile.

"Oh, so  _that's_ why you didn't want us to eat breakfast." Sakura nodded her head before patting her blond-haired teammate on his back, "Good thinking, Naruto. You really saved us this time!"

He nodded, giving her a small smile of appreciation, "Thanks, Sakura."

Kakashi looked in between the three of them, pretending that he hadn't been spying on them this morning to see what they had done while he wasn't in their presence several hours ago, "So, you decided to go against my warning and eat breakfast instead?"

Naruto shook his head up and down, agreeing with the statement, "People come into the hospital all the time because they didn't eat anything before training and ended up feeling queasy, low on energy, and patients tend to pass out, waking up weaker than before since their body didn't have anything to pull energy from. I couldn't just let that happen to my teammates. We need all the energy we can get."

 _"Interesting."_ He thought to himself, tying the bells to one of the loops on his pants.

"Kakashi-sensei, I have a question?" Sakura suddenly asked, getting a nod from her teacher to continue, "Why are there only two bells if there is three of us?"

The silver-haired man gave them another eye-smile, "Well that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the academy." There was the initial reaction of shock and determination, but from there his students' emotions started to take a different tole. Sakura was still holding primarily on to shock but there was an underlying worry clouding her eyes. Sasuke's face mostly held the determination from the initial reaction but his eyes kept darting to and from his teammates. Naruto's face neither held shock nor determination after the initial thought, but instead looking inquisitive and holding a look of wonderment, enlightenment.  _"I can't really tell whether he's figured it out or not_." Kakashi thought to himself, deciding to have more fun with the three. "Then again, all three of you could flunk out too." He tried not to laugh at the surprize that kept coursing through them, minus Naruto who seemed too wrapped up in thought to hear his teacher, "You can use any weapons including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

"Those weapons are too dangerous, Kakashi-sensei!" The pink-haired girl's face held disbelief and worry.

"Sakura, Kakashi-sensei is a trained Jonnin, I'm pretty sure that shurikens are like sticks to him by now," Naruto stated with a blank face, almost getting a chuckle from his teacher.

Kakashi sighed, "Alright, you may begin."

Naruto nodded, pulling out a few circular objects and throwing them on to the ground. Grabbing both of his teammates' wrists, he swiftly guided them away from the plume of purple and blue smoke that filtered out of the smoke bombs. Kakashi let out a quick cough as it consumed him inside of the clearing. The older man's eyes widened in shock before covering his mouth and nose with a gloved hand. He dashed to the side, effectively stepping out of the noxious fumes but he was already starting to see small dots of color.

The silver-haired Jonnin grit his teeth  _"Should've known that a smoke bomb coming from Naruto would have some type of noxious substance in it. He's been volunteering at the hospital for almost two years and been studying medical ninjutsu for almost five years, I'm sure he's picked up a few tricks."_ He could feel his heart rate quickening up as the little amount of noxious gas he'd inhaled started to do its worse.  _"He most likely used a smoke bomb that had a lower dosage of... whatever the hell was in that so the side effects will only last for a few minutes."_ Kakashi looked at the area where he saw his students take off, pulling out his favorite book to read to pass the time,  _"I doubt he would try to kill me."_

"Get off me." Sasuke hissed quietly, pulling his arms away from his teammate once they'd successfully hidden in the brush.

"Sasuke, calm down. If I had let you stay there, the side effects of that gas would have been worse for you since you are younger and have a weaker immune system than Kakashi-sensei." Naruto explained, "I was protecting you."

He growled lowly, "I don't need protection, especially from someone like  _you_."

"Someone like  _me_? What does that even mean?" He stated back, no hint of malice in his voice.

Sakura looked in between the two, "Guys, I don't think we should be fighting right now. We need a plan or something."

Naruto turned to her, "You're right, Sakura." He glanced at the Uchiha before sighing. The blond-haired boy crossed his arms, "I apologize, Sasuke, for assuming you'd want to be protected from something that would have knocked you out within seconds and made you useless during this survival exercise."

Sasuke balled his fists, standing up, "Whatever, I'm going to get a bell."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squeaked out. The boy looked at her with clear anger in his eye, making her freeze. Her heart started to pick up as she continued to speak, "It's t-too dangerous to go by yourself. We need a plan or at least a distraction."

"Sakura's right." The medic-in-training beside her agreed.

He turned, a vicious look in his eyes as he stared down his teammates. The pink-haired girl cowered in Sasuke's shadow as the other boy just gave him a bored look. Sasuke hissed once more, "I don't need a plan to beat Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto stood up, "Yes you do."

The Uchiha swung around, grabbing the blond-haired boy by the throat and slamming him against the tree beside them, "Don't tell  _me_ what to do!"

"I was simply giving an opinion. I'm not your mother, Sasuke, I'm your teammate. I was giving you a mere suggestion. If you don't take it, so be it, get yourself hurt. I'll just have to drag you back and heal you up so you can repeat your failed attempt at getting a bell." He said, shrugging. The hand around his throat loosened slightly, but the clear anger and frustration on Sasuke's face continued.

"Why am I the only one who's wanting to take down Kakashi-sensei?! Why aren't you even  _trying_?!" He snarled.

"As a medic-in-training, there are clear rules that I have to follow." Naruto stated, "Rule number one, 'no medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party have come to an end'. Rule number two, 'no medic shall ever stand on the front lines'. Rule number three, 'no medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon'. Lastly, rule number four, 'only those medic ninja who have mastered the Strength of a Hundred technique of the ninja art Creation Rebirth are permitted to discard the above-mentioned laws'." The boy swiped away Sasuke's hand from his throat and locked eyes with him. "I  _can't_ stop healing. I  _can't_ be the first to die. I  _can't_ be on the front lines." He stated, "I want to be a gennin so badly, Sasuke, and I can see that you two want to be one also. We are all after the same goal. So, while it may not seem like I am, I'm trying to think of a plan of some sorts. One that can combine all our talents and abilities but I can't be the only one to support working together. We said that we'd keep an eye out for each other, or have you forgotten?" The blond-haired gennin sighed, "If we're going to be on a team, we need to start acting like one."

Sasuke took a step away from him, giving the other boy some space, "Fine, what do you have in mind?"

Sakura sighed in relief now that the tension was over, "Yeah, Naruto, spill it."

"Alright, but you have to help me out because this is only a draft." The medic-in-training looked in between the two.

Kakashi stopped walking, ears perking up at a sudden noise. With eyes still on the page of his book, he flicked out one of his hands, catching two shurikens with his index and middle fingers. He threw them back to where their origin was located, hitting a log instead.  _"Substitution jutsu."_ He mulled inside his head, the sound of feet tapping quickly against the dirt alerting him that someone was almost directly behind him. Swiftly turning around, he saw Sasuke standing there with utter seriousness on his face. Kakashi gave the boy an eye-smile, "Sasuke, so nice of you to join me. I was starting to get lonely."

"Hn."

"Not much of a conversationalist, huh?" The silver-haired man mumbled to himself, looking back down at his book for some light reading. Sasuke lowered his body before bounding forward, using the momentum to appear faster. With one hand, Kakashi blocked most of the Uchiha's attacks, eyes still latched onto the pages in front of him. Flipping to the next chapter, he started to dodge the rest of Sasuke's attacks. He could see that his student was slowly getting frustrated, eyes narrowing and angry grunts leaving him. The black-haired boy growled, jumping up to be at eye-level with his teacher before attempting to punch the man's face. Kakashi bent backward, successfully avoiding the attack before letting out a sigh. Hopping to the side, he finally put that damned book away, "Looks like I'm not going to be able to do any light reading anytime soon."

The two soon engaged in a taijutsu battle which had surprised the Jonnin since he thought that Sasuke would want to automatically use his many jutsu against him. Sensing something behind him, Kakashi jumped to the side. He watched as several shurikens started to fly by him within seconds. Sasuke followed his moves, never breaking eye-contact with his teacher as they continued their taijutsu battle. Once more, the silver-haired man found himself dodging either shurikens or kunai that were seemingly coming out of nowhere. He suspected who was behind it out of his students but couldn't be sure since he didn't know much about their abilities individually. Except for Sasuke, since he could only assume what the boy knew based on his clan.

He crouched down lowly, side-sweeping the dark-haired boy's legs from underneath him. The Uchiha started to fall, Kakashi readying a fist when several blurs grabbed Sasuke and rolled away suddenly. He stopped mid-swing, looking at three Naruto's who was standing in front of his teammate who was starting to breathe heavily.  _"Shadow clones, huh?"_ He raised an eyebrow before straightening up. His students suddenly looked on edge. "If you're really a medic, don't you know that medics aren't supposed to be on the front lines?" Kakashi questioned.

"We're not." The clones stated at the same time. Kakashi cocked his head to the side, three kunai flying past him. In that time, the Naruto's had disappeared from their original spot.

The silver-haired Jonnin could sense that the original Naruto was somewhere close. He started to dodge all the swift and precise movements of the clones, realizing that there was something very strange in their hands.  _"Syringes?"_ Kakashi thought to himself, being wary of the clones' hands,  _"From what I know from that kid is that there is probably some sedative in that."_  Sasuke appeared in front of him, trying to use a roundhouse kick against him. Using a cartwheel to get away from the kick and the syringes, he took a breath before stepping to the side by instinct, a giant shuriken passing him by.  _"So, Sakura's the one doing that..."_ He mulled to himself,  _"Man, I really won't be able to read anything with these three around. I shouldn't have given them this much time to plan and prepare."_ The three clones and Sasuke started to approach him. Kakashi leaned forward, getting ready to attack,  _"I need to end this. It's almost noon."_

"Eek!" A strangled noise left one of the clones before they poofed away, the syringe they'd been carrying dropping to the ground. Sasuke rolled across the grass to grab the object, barely dodging a swift attack from his teacher. The Uchiha looked behind him as he ran, seeing Kakashi destroying the remaining clones left in the clearing.

Their plan failed.

"Time for Plan B, I guess..." Sasuke mumbled to himself, turning around and going through some of the hand signs. Kakashi was still approaching him. "Fire Release: Great Fireball!" He shouted out before sucking in a breath and exhaling out a large fireball.

" _Well shit."_ The silver-haired Jonnin thought to himself before being replaced by a log just as the fire reached his location. When he looked back to the fireball's origin, he saw that Sasuke had successfully fled from him. Rustling came from around him as almost a dozen clones of Naruto surrounded him. In one fluid motion, they all started to attack, hands glowing blue.

"We won't let you hurt out teammates, Kakashi-sensei!" The clones chimed together, advancing towards him at a fast pace.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows in thought, all the while dodging the many fluid attacks that rained down on him. From all the years he's been in the field, he'd only ever known medic ninjas – excluding Tsunade Senju – to be in the background, to never be on the front lines or do an attack like these clones were. After all, from what he'd seen so far from his student, Naruto didn't seem like the person to go against the rules which included the rules that every medic ninja followed. Maybe his teammates coaxed him into using clones as a distraction for the rest of them while they prepared. If that was the case, then Naruto would still be following the rules by keeping himself away from the battle but close enough to keep an eye on his teammates. Kakashi smirked to himself.

Having been lost in thought, he barely managed to flee from the two pairs of gripping hands at his hip. He saw the wide – almost disbelieving – stares of Sasuke and Sakura who seemed to have fallen from the treetops to try and get the bells from him. Another swarm of clones – albeit smaller than the previous dozen that had appeared earlier – seemingly came out of nowhere. Kakashi looked out into the sea of heads, counting at least sixteen blond-headed clones, Sasuke, and Sakura. Some of Naruto's clones were standing behind their two teammates while others were standing protectively beside or in front of them.

Kakashi tried to hid his grin, succeeding at that,  _"They're going to make a great team."_

He watched as Naruto's clones – the ones that had just appeared and what was left from his earlier battle – start to take two different types of forms. The ones in the back pulled out about three or four senbons out – probably soaked in a sedative or a slow-acting poison; Kakashi couldn't tell anymore – before holding them out in front of their faces and crouching down low to the ground. The ones that were in the front and on the sides started to cloak their arms in blue chakra that Kakashi knew was sharp to the touch from their earlier interactions. The silver-haired Jonnin watched as Sasuke's eyes pointedly look at Sakura and behind them at the clones, giving them a curt nod. They advanced towards him quickly and the older man tried hard not to be pleased with their ability to work together as a team.

After a while, he noticed that the clones who were holding senbons had retreated to the treetops, flinging the weapons from above. Some of the senbons had just barely grazed his skin, making him feel quite dizzy and his stomach churn slightly. However, being a trained ninja, he was able to correct his footing and block out the swirling objects in his line of sight. Knowing this information, Kakashi was sure to be more aware of where those clones were throwing the senbons.

There was movement in the trees that alerted Kakashi's attention to it. He saw a flash of yellow and knew instantaneously that it was the  _real_ Naruto. After noticing this, a large circular object – about the size of his clenched fist – flew out into the clearing. Sakura, Sasuke, and the clones backed away for a few seconds as the ball erupted in dark gray smoke, making visibility almost nonexistence. Kakashi, having had to battle without the need for his eyes, wasn't scared at all. He could see swishes in the smoke and light tapping against the ground. Flanking left, he watched as Sasuke's foot appeared and the disappeared, almost as if it had never happened. Ducking down, senbon flew from out of nowhere, barely touching his nose.

This continued for several minutes, attacks becoming frantic. In that time, he was able to destroy about five of the clones and throw Sakura away from him when she had tried to engage in a taijutsu fight. The smoke, Kakashi had noticed, was starting to thin out too. It was enough to see silhouettes in the distance; however, it didn't tell him exactly how far or how close his students were to his location. A disgruntled noise left him in surprized shock as arms and legs wrapped around his midsection and under his shoulders, limiting most movements in his upper body. He turned his head around, desperately trying not to grin in proudness, as he saw the small smile of one of Naruto's clones attached to him. Using a simple kawarimi to replace himself with one of the other clones, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself quietly,  _"Smart, but not smart enough, my cute gennin."_

"Now!" Naruto's clone called out. Sasuke and Sakura bounded out of the smoke, reaching for the man's hip and tugging off the bells. A disgruntled noise leaves their mouths as the bells poofed away, 'Kakashi' turning into one of the other clones before the clone poofed away. The clone stared at their teammates with a dumbfounded face before turning to smoke for exhausting their chakra.

"W-What happened?!" Sakura asked, obviously in shock. Sasuke was going to reply when his heard something. Almost as if his body moved on its own, he pushed his pink-haired teammate out of the way just as two pairs of hands quickly grabbed his ankles. Sasuke felt himself being pulled into the dirt directly underneath him, leaving only his head for display. The young girl in front of him quickly stood up in panic, wide eyes displaying her fear and worry. Kakashi pulled himself out of the ground, patting his hands together to get the dirt off. "S-Sasuke!" Sakura squeaked out, backing away from her teacher.

He looked at her and motioned his head towards the woods, "Run!"

She nodded, holding back the tears in her eyes, dashing into the woods as quickly as possible. She needs to find Naruto so that they can regroup and figure out how to get those bells before noon. Breathing deeply, heart pounding in her chest, the pink-haired girl looked around the area quickly. Sakura desperately hoped that she had lost Kakashi in the dense woods around her, but her logical mind disagreed with her heart. She gulped and picked up the pace, trying to remember where they had been hiding before so that she could get to where Naruto was before Kakashi got to her. Sakura felt like her legs were going to give at any moment, the unrelenting fear bubbling instead of her.

"Too slow." A voice said from in front of her. Kakashi gave the girl an eye-smile, fingers moving together in the form of a jutsu. He cast it upon her and cringed at the loud, long scream she made. In mere seconds, the girl tumbled forward, unconscious.  _"I thought she'd be able to break that genjutsu."_ He mused to himself, before walking in a different direction to find the last member of their team,  _"Where are you, Naruto?"_

Naruto could feel sweat appearing on his forehead, the clones' memories flooding into him before their demise. Kakashi had destroyed the remaining clones that were in the area after he'd dragged Sasuke underground. His clones' memories showed that Sasuke had pushed Sakura out of the way before he was dragged underground, save for his head. He knew where Sasuke was located – thanks to his clones – however, that didn't mean that he didn't worry about his teammate. Something like being dragged underground could leave broken bones or twisted ankles which weren't fun to deal with. He hoped that the Uchiha would be fine as he sent a few clones out to get him out and bring him back so that they could regroup. Naruto also worried about Sakura, he didn't exactly know where she was and hoped that she wasn't in too much trouble. He'd heard her scream all to clearly in his head and it mortified him. After hearing the high-pitched noise, he sent out a four-man group of clones after her in a weird direction. Hopefully, both of his teammates would be fine.

Getting up from his spot, he left his current hiding spot in search for somewhere else to sit and wait for the arrival of his teammates.

Sasuke looked up at the three clones looming above him. He sneered slightly, "What?"

"Do you need assistance?" One of the three asked, no amount of emotion in their voices but the concern in their eyes spoke the truth.

"I suppose so." He mumbled.

"Stand watch." Two of the clones said to the other one who had spoken earlier. Naruto's clone nodded, walking in a slow circle, head craned to look in almost every direction. The remaining channeled chakra into their hands, turning them blue before attacking the ground around their teammate's body to move the dirt away quickly.

Sasuke let out a growl, "Hey! Watch it! You're going to cut something off!"

The clones stopped, looking in between each other before staring pointedly at the Uchiha, "Sasuke, we can just reattach if it if need be."

The black-haired boy could feel his face pale at the thought as the clones started to continue. After a few seconds, he could feel his shoulders loosening up once the dirt surrounding him was being removed. Sasuke let out a sigh of relief, the pressure being removed from his chest soon after. Rather agitated, the dark-haired boy started to wiggle around. After about a minute, Sasuke found that his hand was free and he sighed once more. The clones, seeing this, grinned at each other and started to work fast.

"U-Um!" Naruto's clone that had been standing watch suddenly squeaked out, "We need to hurry, I feel like Kakashi-sensei is near!"

"Are you sure?!" One of the other clones questioned hastily, hands already moving with precise strikes. The watchdog clone nodded, moving to their sides to help them out so that they can get out of there as quickly as possible. Another one of Sasuke's hands became free. The two clones started to pull the boy out, the ground shifting underneath him.

Naruto's clone turned his head, "He's getting close. We've got to go,  _now_!" The three clones tugged together, successfully pulling Sasuke from the dirt. The Uchiha stretched slightly before the four of them started to run in the direction of the original Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei is steadily approaching our location." A clone informed, "We can't allow him to see where we are hiding out. We'll need to split up."

"Alright, you-" One of the clones pointed to another, "-come with me. I'll henge into Sasuke. Together, we'll try to get him off our trail, got it?"

The blond-haired clone nodded, everyone watching as one of them turned into a carbon copy of the Uchiha. He looked at the original Sasuke and the clone that will be accompanying him, "You two stay safe. It's anyone's game right now."

Sasuke nodded, "Give him hell." The clones nodded, turning right in hopes of Kakashi following them instead. "You know, you clones sure do come in handy in situations like this." He stated.

The imposter smiled slightly, "I guess so. I – the original me – didn't realize that we could use the Shadow Clone Jutsu to be on the frontlines while still playing medic in the background. Thank you for the idea."

The Uchiha shrugged, "We needed another advantage in our plan, even though it wasn't successful, it did prove useful."

"That gives me an idea." Naruto's clone stated.

"What is it?"

"If we are ever in a situation where a lot of people need healing but we don't have enough medics, I – the original me – could use a mass Shadow Clone Jutsu to help everyone." He smiled.

Sasuke nodded, "So, where is Naruto... the real one, I mean."

"He's close. He sent three of us to come get you and a four-man group to find Sakura." The clone stated.

"What happened to Haruno?" He questioned, not really worried about his devoted-fangirl.

Naruto's clone heaved a sigh, "We're not sure but we – the original and the rest of us clones – think that Kakashi-sensei got to her before she could get back to where we were hiding."

"So, he got to her first?" He raised an eyebrow, though, he already knew the answer.

"Sasuke, I must ask as a medic-in-training, but... are you alright? You didn't get hurt at all?" The clone questioned.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, "Other than a few bruises and cuts from Kakashi-sensei, I'm fine. I don't need your healing."

The blond-haired clone gave him an eye-smile, "That's great, I was getting worried."

"Worried?" Sasuke almost scoffed.

He nodded, "This is only the second time I've been put in a situation like this where I had to look after someone as a medic ninja and backup. It's thrilling and scary."

The dark-haired gennin took a moment to think before turning to look at the clone, "Does the original Naruto know that you're telling me this?"

"Nope but he will once I poof away!" The clone let out a short laugh. Sasuke raised his eyebrow again. Seeing this, the blond-haired clone grinned, "Naruto can see all of the memories and thoughts of a clone once we poof away. That's why we knew exactly what happened to you and where you were because the original clones that were there poofed away and gave the original Naruto the memories. He only just found it out before the exam."

"That is...  _very_ useful." Sasuke mumbled.

"We're here. It's right up ahead." The clone stated, "Nice chat, right? See you later!"

"I guess?" He stated, the clone leaving him in a plume of smoke. Sasuke ran forward, seeing Naruto's eyes widened before blinking several times. He looked up at the dark-haired boy and grinned. He guessed that Naruto just got back his clone's memories.

"I'm glad you're okay." Naruto finally said, speaking softly, "I know my clone said the same thing, but are you  _sure_ that you don't need anything healed?"

Sasuke sat beside the blond-haired gennin and grunted, "Hn."

He chuckled, "I'll take that as a no?"

"Hn."

"We're back!" A breathless voice called from the right. There were two clones left, one holding an unconscious Sakura on their back. The clone set her down beside the original Naruto before dispelling themselves.

"A genjutsu?" Naruto mused, going through his clones' memories, "Sasuke, can you dispel this one? I'm not proficient in genjutsu."

He nodded, "Move aside." The blond-haired medic-in-training nodded, giving his teammate space. Sasuke flew through a few short hand signs, "Kai."

Sakura awoke with a large gulp of oxygen, eyes wide and filling with tears quickly. She glanced at her two teammates in worry, fear, shock, and utter happiness. Launching herself at Sasuke, she cuddled up against his side, tears slipping out of her eyes. The Uchiha grimaced, a disgusted look on his face and eyes pleading for Naruto to do something.

"Sakura." The blond-haired boy's soft voice alerted her.

Their pink-haired teammate sniffled, peeling herself away from her crush. Sasuke visibly relaxed and gave the other boy a small smile which quickly vanished. Sakura whipped her eyes, "What happened?"

Naruto gave her a smile, placing his hands on her shoulders softly, "Kakashi-sensei put a genjutsu on you. If you need to talk about it later, you can tell me about it after the exam."

She blushed at his politeness, "U-Um... I'm fine, I think... No need to t-talk about it."

He nodded in understanding, "Are you okay? Do you need any medical attention? I heard you screaming a while ago and I was worried."

"I think I sprained my ankle when running but I'm not sure," Sakura said honestly, cheeks growing redder by the minute by the sickly-sweet attention she was getting from the medic-in-training.

"Mind if I have a look?" He asked, eyes wide with curiosity and worry. She nodded, moving her leg so that it was closer to him. He took off her shoe, making Sakura feel slightly embarrassed by the situation. After a few seconds, Naruto nodded, "Yeah, it's sprained." His hand started to glow green, letting it hover over her ankle. "This will help with the swelling and pain but you need to be careful of running on the weird terrain around here." He grinned up at her, "You'll be fine in about a day or so."

She smiled, "Thanks, Naruto. I appreciate it."

Naruto, after putting her shoe back on, turned to look at Sasuke, "You sure you don't need healing at all?"

"I'm  _fine_." He hissed, "Let's just try to make a new plan so that we can become genins."

And plan they did.

* * *

 

**One hour later...**

Kakashi stared at his students who were all tied against one of the large logs in the center of Training Ground 7. They all had a mix of emotions crossing their faces; guilt, shame, disappointment, anger, sadness, and more were just the beginning. The bells jingled tauntingly at the teacher's hip, the three newly-graduates looking directly at them. "Team 7, for not completing your mission and not being able to retrieve these bells from me, you..." He gave them an eye-smile, "...pass."

"WHAT?!" The shocked screams of the three newly-graduates filled the clearing, leaning forward in surprize.

Kakashi gave a chuckle out, "Yep, you three pass!"

"Not that I'm upset about passing, but... Kakashi-sensei, we didn't get the bells." Sakura stated, giving her teacher an incredulous stare.

"We don't deserve to pass," Sasuke mumbled after a few seconds.

Naruto nodded, "Why are you passing us?"

"You are the first squad that ever succeeded. The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through the deception. You were the only squad that was able to do something like that, even  _before_ I told you what the exercise was about." Kakashi stated, "There is a saying that I learned many years ago. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum; that's true, but... those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." He was quiet for a few seconds, reading their expressions of almost pure joy. He smiled, giving them a thumbs up, "The exercise is over. Everyone passes. Squad 7's starts its first mission tomorrow!"

"We did it!" Sakura cheered, loudly.

"Hn." Sasuke let a small smile grace his features.

"Yes!" Naruto grinned brightly, feeling his heart swell with happiness.

He was one step closer to being recognized by the village as a medic!


	11. Starting Out

It was earlier morning, shops were just starting to come alive and set out their products for customers to purchase. The same could be said for Liam, getting ready to start his morning to lunch shift before the boss' daughter took over for the later part of the afternoon. The brunette gave a soft smile, starting some of the morning chores like sweeping, wiping down the counters, and changed the sign on the door from  **CLOSED** to  **OPEN**. He hummed to himself, remembering that he had to do inventory next week.

The door chimed as it was pushed open, hot air billowing quickly into the newly-air-conditioned place. Liam looked up from where he was sweeping to see a mop of blond haired. He grinned brightly, "Good morning, Naruto."

The kid raised his head, eyes shining brightly as he walked over to the older man who had stopped sweeping for the moment, "Liam! It is good to see you again."

"Same to you, kid." Liam chuckled, setting the broom in the corner for later purposes, "How are you holding up with all the genin stuff?"

"I don't know just yet since we only just had our genin exam yesterday – like the real one, not the academy one – and we're actually about to have our first mission in an hour." Naruto shrugged.

The older man pats his forehead a few times, a habit he'd gotten about a year or two ago, "Ah, that's right! I thought you had graduated with last year's bunch."

The twelve-year-old raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"My nephew, Reid, graduated with last year's bunch. Well, when he had described several of the kids in his class, it sounded oddly similar to some of the students in your academy class." He laughed suddenly, "Guess my mind just merged the two together, you know?"

"Who were some of the kids that sounded similar to the kids in my class?" Naruto questioned.

"Hm, well, the top of the class for last year's bunch was this Hyūga guy who is apparently an asshole and quiet most of the time. What was his name? Something that started with an M... no, an N! Yeah, it started with an N and..." Liam mumbled something to himself, rubbing his chin in thought before his eyes suddenly went wide with realization, "Neji Hyūga! Yeah! That's his name, can't believe I almost forgot it. He sounded similar to Sasuke Uchiha in your class."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrow again, "That's kind of hard to believe."

The older man shrugged, "That's just what my nephew told me. He could be making it up but he honestly seemed to hate the guy."

Naruto leaned forward, inquisitiveness in his voice, "Why?"

"Not sure, haven't ever met the guy and Reid won't tell me anything besides what I've just told you." He admitted, "There was also another kid that seemed quite similar to that Inuzuka boy in your class. I think his name's like Lee or something."

"So... loud and obnoxious?" The genin chuckled.

Liam rubbed his chin again, "Sort of. From what Reid tells me, Lee either doesn't have chakra in his body or he chooses not to use it. He's the dead last and almost failed his genin exam – the academy one – because he didn't know how to do any ninjutsu or genjutsu. The only reason he passed – I think – was that he had the highest score in taijutsu."

"So, Lee only uses taijutsu?" Naruto's eyes were wide with wonderment.

"Yep!" The brunette nodded quickly.

"Since Lee was the dead last and Neji was the rookie, that means that they are on a team together." The older man in front of him nodded once more, "Well if that's the case, do you know who the top kunoichi of their class was?"

Liam suddenly gave a laugh, "Oh, absolutely. Reid had a crush on this girl but she was always either too wrapped up in her weapons or her studies. Her name's Tenten, a civilian girl who actually lives around here somewhere. She and Reid used to be really good friends until she got too enveloped in  _whatever_ she was doing and they drifted apart."

"That's kind of sad." Naruto sighed.

"Don't worry too much about it." He laid a reassuring hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Which sensei do you think they got?" He suddenly asked.

Liam thought for a second, "I'm not sure, someone crazy I would think."

Naruto laughed loudly at the man's words, getting a chuckle out of Liam himself, "Crazy, hm?"

"So, what brings you here?" He suddenly questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, I actually wanted to see if those shipments for the newest medical texts came in yet." A light seemed to shine in the genin's eyes.

Liam grinned, "You're just in luck! They came in about three days ago."

He nodded in excitement, "I'm glad your boss finally agreed to put medical ninjutsu scrolls back on the shelves again."

"Well, you  _were_ the one to persuade him!" The older man chimed in, chuckling slightly before pointing somewhere in the store, "The scrolls were put out yesterday for purchasing. They're on aisle four somewhere to the left."

Naruto waved, bowing his head slightly, "Thank you." He didn't haste making his way over towards the medical scrolls that had been put back on the shelves recently. Blue eyes scanned the shelf from top to bottom, landing on two scrolls down at the bottom. Naruto grinned, plucking them off the shelf before heading back to where Liam was shuffling behind the counter.

"Already found them?" The brunette chuckled, "Hope you get something out of those texts. They are basically just a bunch of excerpts from this other old book from one of the other villages."

Interest seemed to spark in the younger boy's eyes as he placed the scrolls on the counter, "Really? So, there is a book with  _more_ information than what should be in these two?"

Liam bobbed his head, starting to ring up the items, "I'm pretty sure that the book comes from Sunagakure or somewhere around there. Suna must have excellent medics since a lot of their ninjas are puppeteers who use poisons. They need antidots and things like that. 1,500 ryō, by the way."

He blinked, absentmindedly pulling out the needed money for the scrolls, "How do you know all this stuff?"

"Well," The older man laughed, taking the money from the genin and placing into the cash register, "I got around in my younger days. I used to travel all over the place before settling down in Konoha. Plus, I'm a book nerd."

Naruto snickered as Liam slid the scrolls over to him, "I believe it."

"How much time do you have left until you have your first mission?" The brunette raised an eyebrow.

The blond-haired boy tapped his chin, "About forty-five minutes I would say, why do you ask?"

He shrugged, "I was just hoping that I wasn't making you late with all my talk."

"It's quite alright, Liam." Naruto smiled, "I'll see you some other time!" He headed for the door, looking back at the older man with a smile.

"You take care of yourself, Naruto." Liam grinned, waving.

He nodded, "Will do." With that, Naruto left the shop.

* * *

"Wait, are you saying I should start flicking my wrist when I throw kunai?" Sakura hummed in question, moving her hand in the motion she'd just described to the Uchiha she was walking beside.

He shook his head, looking ahead, "Haruno, all I'm saying is that aim is everything. You did well yesterday with the extra kunai that Naruto and I gave you to shoot at Kakashi-sensei but by the time the kunai reached Kakashi-sensei's location, he had enough time to dodge it.  _That_ can't happen again."

"I know that, Sasuke." The pink-haired girl huffed slightly before tapping her chin in thought, "Then, what did you mean when you were talking about the wrist thing?"

"It's a method that some of the older sharpshooter ninjas around here use to fire off multiple kunai, shurikens, or other sharp weapons at their opponents over a large area." The twelve-year-old boy stated, "Even though most of the shots are sporadic, there is little the enemy could do if there were dozens and dozens of weapons flying at them from all directions. They'd have no place to move and would almost always get hit by them."

"Do you know how to do it?" She asked.

He nodded, "Most of my clan knew how to do it so I know the basics of the technique."

Sakura looked down at the ground, "Is there... any chance that you could... teach it to me sometime?"

Sasuke thought for a second, glancing at the girl beside him who wouldn't make eye contact with him, "We'll see."

"Really?" Her eyes shone with excitement and hope, a blush running rampant on her cheeks. The Uchiha quickly looked away, hating his fangirls. The two walked silently before appearing at the bridge the team was to meet at for their first D-ranked mission. Sakura blinked in surprise, seeing Naruto slumped over something on the ground. She began to worry a little bit. "Naruto?" Sakura called out.

The blond-haired boy lifted his head, eyes brightening at the appearance of his teammates, "Good morning."

"What are you doing?" Sasuke questioned, his tone boarding harsh.

Naruto didn't flinch, either from not noticing the Uchiha's tone or simply ignoring it, "Reading some old medical texts."

Sakura, taking a seat on the railing on the bridge beside where the medic-in-training was, she leaned over to look at what he was reading, "Medical texts? What are those?"

"Before medical ninjutsu was considered a branch off of ninjutsu instead of a practice that doctors and nurses with chakra could do, they would write their findings on paper like books or notebooks and share their findings with each other. It's all super fascinating." Naruto sighed heavily, "However, I just found out upon purchasing these two scrolls from one of the shops in town that these are all excerpts from a much older book from Sunagakure. I'm hoping to get my hands on it soon."

"Can't you just buy the book or a copy of it?" The pink-haired kunoichi questioned.

He shook his head, putting the scroll away in the knapsack he always carried on his person, "It's a one of a kind book. There are probably many secrets in the original writings than what is given away in these excerpts. Plus, I don't think I could ever purchase that book in a million lifetimes."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "What kind of secrets do you think it holds?"

"All kinds of secrets!" Naruto's eyes lit up as he shot up from the ground in excitement, "I can only guess that a lot of the secrets are surrounding poison and poison control since nearly half of the excerpts I've just read was about patients dealing with different types of poisons or what different types of poison could do to the body."

"Why poison?" The black-haired boy questioned.

"Because Sunagakure is known for them!" He informed, "They are some of the best poison makers and they are honestly so creative with all the kinds they extracted or made. There is a shipment coming in from Sunagakure in a few weeks that are going to be bringing a lot of new stuff for purchase. I'm going to go see if they have anything on poisons when the time comes."

"Why don't you just ask for the hospital's records on poison control?" A sudden voice said from behind the three gennin, thoroughly startling them.

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura breathed, hand on her heart, "Don't just  _do_ that."

The silver-haired man gave the group an eye-smile, "Whoops."

Naruto smiled up at his teacher, "While that is a good idea, I've already tried it. I'm not allowed to touch  _those_ types of documents since I'm not an  _official_ doctor. That's for another time, though, what about our D-ranked mission?"

"Well, I came here to grab you three so we could meet with the Hokage about those missions," Kakashi stated, motioning for them to follow him. The four set off towards the Hokage tower.

"Hey, Naruto, can I ask you something?" Sakura suddenly voiced.

"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow, staring into her eyes with wonderment, obviously curious.

"When did you start learning about all this medical stuff? You seem to know a lot." She stated.

A blush rose on his face at the question, "Um... I honestly don't know as much as you think I do, but I've been doing this since I was... eight or nine? That was only the fundamental things like researching and the likes of. I didn't actually start training as a medical nin until I was about eleven."

The others in the group blinked. Kakashi stopped to look at his student,  _"Does he even realize how brilliant he is and he's only been doing this for about four years?"_

"That's amazing, Naruto!" Sakura suddenly beamed, looking amazed.

He chuckled sheepishly, blush deepening in color from the claim, "Not really. I'm not that proficient it if. If you wanted to see someone cool in medical action, you should see Dr. Yiruma at the hospital. He just got promoted to Head Medic for Konohagakure;  _he's_ amazing."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Stop being modest and just own up to the fact that you're talented."

Naruto's eyes widened,  _"I don't think my heart can handle this praise."_

"We're here." Kakashi could have almost chuckled at how flustered his student looked from what the others were saying about him. They climbed the steps up towards the Hokage's office.

"MY YOUTHFUL RIVAL!" A booming voice suddenly shouted from behind Team 7.

The silver-haired Jonin instantly tensed up, sweat running down the side of his face as he slowly turned around, "A-Ah, Guy, good morning."

"And what a lovely good morning to you as well, Kakashi, my youthful rival!" The shout turned to loudly spoken words as another Jonin with three other gennin appeared before Team 7.

Sakura looked awkward, scooting over to stand in between Sasuke and Naruto while also being behind her teacher, "Kakashi-sensei, do you know this dude?"

He nodded, "Team, this is Guy, a fellow Jonin teacher of Team 3. Guy, these three are my lovable gennin."

"Excellent! Nice to meet you three!" Guy gave the group a thumbs up, seemingly shining, making Kakashi sweat drop, "I'd like you to meet my team." Behind him were his three students, two boys and a girl. He laid his large hand on a long-haired boy's shoulder, "This here is Neji Hyuuga, a bright young man indeed!"

The boy now known as Neji turned away, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Sakura blushed,  _"So polite."_

"This young lady here is our one and only Tenten!" Guy smiled, patting the girl on the back in praise.

She smiled, bowing slightly, "Nice meeting you!"

"And last but certainly not least is Lee!" The older man ruffled the boy's head who looked extremely similar to the Jonin.

Naruto blinked, "Lee? I've heard of you before."

Team 7 stared at him with a confused glance. Lee's big eyes seemed to widen, "You have?!"

He nodded, stepping forward with his hand out, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm glad that you are continuing with your career as a ninja who only uses taijutsu. Please keep up the great work, Lee."

The black-haired boy gave the other a large smile, shaking hands with him, "Yosh! Thank you! That means so much to me. May I have your name, please?"

"Oh, absolutely! I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He grinned.

"I guess it would be a good time to introduce you two, wouldn't you say, my adorable genins?" Kakashi stated, looking back at his other two students.

The Uchiha crossed his arms, sighing heavily, "Sasuke Uchiha."

The pink-haired girl bowed once, "Sakura Haruno, it's nice to meet you."

"You have such great genins, Kakashi!" Guy bellowed.

"Thanks." He nodded, "Are you heading to Hokage-sama's office for a D-ranked mission?"

"We are actually getting another C-ranked mission!" Lee shouted out slightly, getting the words out before his teacher.

"Really?" Naruto beamed, "That's amazing. Good luck!"

He bobbed his head, "Yosh! I shall do my best or I will run one hundred laps around the village!"

"That's the spirit, Lee!" The black-haired Jonnin shouted out, giving another thumbs up.

Kakashi coughed to get their attention again, "Well, we shouldn't keep you four waiting. You should head up first for the C-ranked one since the debriefing will probably be longer. We'll wait until you are finished."

Guy nodded, "Yes, thank you, my eternal rival! Come now!"

"YOSH!"

Team 7 watched as Team 3 headed up the stairs. "Those two are awesome." Naruto grinned, eyes bright with joy.

"I don't know how you could keep up with the conversation with all that screaming those two were doing," Sakura admitted, rubbing her ears.

"Where did you hear about Lee?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

"It was this morning when I purchased those two scrolls I mentioned earlier. The store clerk, Liam, who was there for the morning shift had accidentally mixed up our graduating class with last year's." The blond-haired gennin stated, "Team 3 is kind of like our team. Neji Hyuuga is the rookie of last year's bunch, Tenten is the top kunoichi, and Lee is the dead last."

"And Lee only uses Taijutsu?" The only girl on the team questioned.

"Just like Guy," Kakashi stated. His students gave him a look. He sighed, "Ever since the two of us were in the academy, Guy has only ever used taijutsu. I don't know if it was based on his own personal choice because of Might Duy – a man known as the Eternal Gennin and Guy's father – used only taijutsu... or it could have been bad nerves."

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, "How is using on taijutsu effective in battle?"

Their teacher snorted, "If you're asking that question, then you  _obviously_ have never battled against a taijutsu specialist like Guy or Lee. They are something extraordinary."

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes, "So, they're strong?"

"Absolutely, in their own way." He nodded.

"Wow!" Naruto breathed, ecstatic, "That's so cool!"

Sakura chuckled slightly, "Some of the things you think are 'cool' really aren't." The team laughed together before heading up the stairs once more. It wasn't a surprise when they ran into Team 3 as they were leaving the Hokage's office, Guy holding a scroll that he hadn't had earlier.

"Good luck on your mission, Naruto!" Lee shouted out.

"Same to you, Lee." Naruto grinned, waving him bye as Team 3 left the building.

"Seems like you've made a new friend, Naruto." An older voice said.

"Good morning, Jiji – I mean, Hokage-sama... ah." The blond-haired medic-in-training gave the older man a sheepish smile as Team 7 fully entered the office.

"It's quite alright." Hiruzen smiled, setting down his smoke pipe, knowing that Naruto would say something about it, "Now, I have recently just received three D-ranked missions that, if you think your team is ready enough, Kakashi, you can do all three of them today."

The lazy ninja nodded his head, reaching into his pocket for that dirty book he loved to read, "Yeah, I think they've earned it for yesterday's splendid teamwork in the gennin exam."

The students all held a small blush from the praise by their teacher, each giving their own version of happiness. The two eldest people in the room couldn't help but feel proud of them. Hiruzen coughed to gain their attention, "The first one is to pull weeds from the garden in East Square. The second one is the Chase Tora mission. The last is to babysit some of the orphanage children while the caretakers have to take leave for some legal business. I hope to see you this afternoon with these three missions completed."

"Yes, sir!" The four bowed, Kakashi grabbing the three mission scrolls before Team 7 left to complete the missions.


	12. New Things

Hiruzen smiled slightly, humming in content, "Is that so, Kakashi?"

The silver-haired Jonnin nodded, an eye-smile on his own face, "This team is going to be something great, I know it."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that they are going to go far." The Third Hokage leaned back in his chair, looking completely relaxed, "I'd like to know your standpoint on Team 7 and what they've been up to as of lately."

"Well, I've got to say, when I received the reports from the academy about the gennin I would be receiving, I didn't think much of them. Sasuke is – to be blunt – an asshole who's only dream is to avenge his clan and kill his brother. Sakura is a fangirl and sticks close to Sasuke throughout the day. Naruto's reports up until he was about eight or nine were of him being loud, obnoxious, and dead last but I think we can both say that that's changed for the better." Kakashi stated, "I honestly thought that they were going to fail because there was absolutely no  _way_ that those three would ever be able to use teamwork. I can say now that I'm proud that they proved me wrong."

The older man nodded, "They are indeed an interesting bunch. Please continue."

"Well, their teamwork is slowly getting there. They still have quarrels every now and then, mainly Naruto and Sasuke with Sakura sometimes in the mix every now and then, but they do work well together." He concluded, "Sasuke is actually starting to open up and talk while around his teammates and me. He's changing before my eyes and I can't wait to see who he'll turn out to be. Sakura is probably the one who's changing at least every day. I've observed Naruto and Sasuke – mainly Naruto – trying to get Sakura to get stronger and stronger; she seems to be taking their advice – especially Sasuke's – well. She's even talked about cutting her hair which surprised the hell out of me."

The Third Hokage laughed at the thought, remembering weekly reports on academy students; Sakura used to proclaim that she was never going to cut her hair because – supposedly – Sasuke liked long-haired girls. He tilted his head to the side slightly, "And Naruto?"

Kakashi grinned, eyes shut with glee, "He's probably the only reason the team is so close. Naruto has this way of making everyone's day all the brighter. Not only is he still volunteering at the hospital – or is he working there – but he's also keeping up with the D-ranked missions we go on during the week and trains in that time frame. Naruto is probably the hardest working gennin I've ever encountered."

"Is that so?" The Sarutobi man smiled, "I can't believe how far he's come."

"I can't agree with you more." The Jonnin said, "However, I must ask, have you gotten any word from Jiraiya-sama or Tsunade-sama?"

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, a seriousness falling over his face, "Jiraiya has agreed to come back to the village for the next few months, but he won't appear until the second part of the chunin exams."

"And Tsunade-sama?"

"No one's heard from her. I tried to send a message to Shizune but there's been nothing so far." He tapped the desk in front of him with worry in his eyes, "With strange occurrences in the Hidden Sound and lack of communication with the Hidden Sand, it makes me concerned of what might be approaching. I have a gut feeling that it's going to go down around or after the chunin exams."

Kakashi nodded his head slowly, "Is there anything that you need me to do, Hokage-sama?"

"No, not as of right now. Tend to your gennin for now. Prepare them for what might be all-out war." The old Hokage stated.

"You think that this might become  _that_ severe?" His one visible eye widened.

Hiruzen thought for a second, before nodding slowly, "Our forces need to be ready for anything. I feel that this year, we need to be wary of our allies. Something is definitely on the horizon."

A sudden thought crossed Kakashi's mind, making his body tense up, "Hokage-sama, I hope you're not thinking of what I think you're thinking of." A shadow fell over the older man's face, making the Jonnin nod in understanding. "If Tsunade-sama does not show up by the time this comes around, you are going to put Naruto in charge of healing the wounded." The silver-haired man stated solemnly.

"Yes. Not only can Naruto heal others at an exceptionally fast rate – so I've heard from Dr. Terra – but he can also do the Multi-Shadow Clone jutsu, therefore, being able to save those in our village." Hiruzen said, "However, I'd rather not resort to that. He's a child after all and I'm sure that he'll be close to chakra exhaustion after the chunin exams are over. I don't want to put him through that."

Kakashi visibly sighed in relief, "But, you are still keeping that in mind?"

He nodded, "I hope that my old student returns so that we don't have to resort to that."

"I agree."

"Well, until then, I will see you tomorrow for your next mission." The old Sarutobi man stated, "Dismissed."

Kakashi waved, disappearing in a swirl of leaves, his mind running a mile a minute.  _"I have to get my team ready for anything."_ He subconsciously thought, his gennins' smiling faces appearing in his mind.

* * *

Shikamaru grumbled something, a dark aura surrounding him. Those walking down the streets would have made a path for the Nara heir had it not been for the bright smile emitting such happiness from beside Shikamaru that blocked out the darkness. Naruto laughed at his friend's bad mood, "Was it  _really_ that awful?"

" _Yes_!" He growled out, exasperated before sighing in defeat, "I never want to do the Chase Tora mission ever again."

"We didn't have a problem with Tora." The medic-in-training stated.

The black-haired gennin crossed his arms, staring at the clouds above them, "Well, with Sasuke being able to out-run Tora and lead her into a trap, you having tranquilizers on your person at all times, and Sakura getting into sharpshooting, no wonder you were able to get Tora at record-breaking speed."

Naruto laughed heartedly, getting awestruck looks from young children, "Hey! It wasn't  _my_ idea, it was Sakura's."

"Still, you got Tora back without having to get patched up." Shikamaru grumbled.

He chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "Are you mad at my team and me for being able to get Tora faster than you?"

"No," The other boy sighed, "I'm just kind of jealous that your team can do teamwork so well, especially on the Chase Tora mission."

"Why would you be jealous of my team?" The medic-in-training tilted his head, "I've heard a lot of good things about the teamwork you and your team have shown so far. Kakashi-sensei was talking about Asuma-sensei bragging about you guys the other day."

Shikamaru shook his head in exasperation, "Well, you've heard wrong. Your team, out of the three gennin teams that made it past the Jonin's exam, is by  _far_ the greatest at teamwork."

Naruto looked away, rubbing the back of his neck modestly, "Shikamaru, I don't think that's true, we just-" He got cut off by the black-haired boy raising his hand.

"Naruto, I know a good team when I see one. While you, Sasuke, and Sakura fight sometimes, you three also know when to help each other while on missions. You watch each other's back and have a good understanding of what everyone can do ability wise." He stated, black eyes staring into wide blue ones, "My team, however, argues... a  _lot_. Ino hates it when Choji eats while we're on a mission and yells at him frequently. She likes to yell at me for being lazy when we're supposed to train. She... just likes to yell, I guess. Choji isn't motivated for doing  _anything_ , unless food is involved. Asuma doesn't try to motivate him at  _all._ While I'm lazy a lot, I'm kind of the brains on the operations most times. But... there's no teamwork, not like what the original Ino-Shika-Cho had. It's embarrassing and, yeah, I guess I am jealous of your teamwork but that's because there is so much that's riding on the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho." By the end of it, Shikamaru had looked away.

Naruto gave his friend a sympathetic look, "Look, it's hard to be compatible with your teammates enough to be able to use teamwork like how my team does. We argue, we fight, we hurt, we apologize, we forgive, and we forget. It's a messy cycle and it's not effortless. You have to put in the hard work in order to be compatible with your teammates."

"But it's so  _troublesome_." Shikamaru groaned.

The medic-in-training laughed, "Well, then I guess you're never going to get anywhere."

The Nara heir rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever makes you sleep at night."

"Oh, don't be like that." He grinned, "I'm just trying to lighten the mood a little bit."

Shikamaru gave the blond-haired boy a disdained look, blinking his eyes slowly, "Well, you didn't do a very good job." Naruto could see the other boy's lips twitching up, trying not to smile.

Naruto smiled warmly, "You just have to try to get everyone to work together. It could work the first time or you'd have to attempt it more than once but, believe me, it's worth it in the end."

"Yeah?" He questioned, raising his eyebrow, "You think so?"

"I know so." His smile widened, happiness in his eyes.

* * *

Kakashi still had the words of the Hokage in his mind as he stood in front of his gennin who all waited with mild curiosity. "Good morning, my adorable little gennins." He gave them an eye-smile, trying not to look like he wasn't keeping a watch on the shadows of the forests. He could never be so sure that there wasn't an enemy in the bushes somewhere.

" _Once an ANBU, always an ANBU."_  Kurenai had once said to him after failing his first gennin team.

"Well, if you consider noon morning, then... good morning to you too, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura gave the older man a sickly-sweet smile, voice coated in sarcasm.

He simply ignored the statement, getting used to the girl's teasing on his tardiness, "Today, we're going to be doing some sparring."

Sasuke seemed to brighten up at the thought, straightening up his back and looking attentive, "Rules of the match?"

"The only rule is that you have to use taijutsu. We'll get around to regular sparring some other day this week, but for now, only taijutsu." Kakashi stated.

Naruto grinned in excitement, "Who's going to go first?"

"I want you and Sasuke to spar against each other for right now. Sakura, you come with me. I want to fix your taijutsu stance a little before you spar against one of the boys." The older man said, ushering the pink-haired girl over to a different area only to stop at a thought, twisting his head to look at Naruto and Sasuke, "And boys, no broken bones. I know that Naruto can fix it up but I  _really_ don't want to deal with the paperwork that a broken bone comes with." A chuckle came from Naruto almost immediately after the words left Kakashi's mouth. A similar sound came from Sasuke as well, however, it seemed like the Uchiha was trying to scoff. Their remaining teammate waved the two off, following Kakashi to a location a few meters from Naruto and Sasuke.

Almost immediately after their teacher and teammate left, the boys launched into action. Sasuke quickly had the upper hand, having had years of training with this specific taijutsu stance. However, the other boy was on par with keeping up with the attacks, bouncing them away from his body or simple dodging.

Left, right, no matter where the Uchiha tried to hit, it was like Naruto was never there... which pissed him off.

"Stop dodging already!" Sasuke huffed angrily, cartwheeling back so that the blond-haired boy couldn't rebound from his side-step and get a hit in.

The medic-in-training rolled his eyes, "I'm on the defense right now so I think I have the right to dodge a little bit." He squeaked, having been caught off guard by the Uchiha's sudden movements towards his location. Bending into an awkward position, Naruto kicked upwards, foot just barely missing Sasuke's chin who leaned back to prevent the attack from connecting.

"I won't let you win, Naruto." The black-haired boy grinned, getting in another starter position.

Naruto breathed slowly, a grin on his face as well, as he got up from the ground, "We'll see about that, Sasuke."

Sakura blinked up at her teacher, the two still walking, "You seemed worried."

His ears twitched at the innocent-sounding words. "I'm not particularly worried about anything." He lied.

"Oh." She looked at the dirt underneath her shoes, "Are you sure?"

Kakashi gave her his famous eye-smile, "Sakura, I'm fine."

The pink-haired girl gave a sigh of defeat, shrugging her shoulders up, "Well, if you say so."

He turned away from her,  _"If only you knew."_ The two stopped, already hearing Naruto and Sasuke start to clash. There was a sound of metal coming from that area. Kakashi sighed, cupping his hand to his mouth, "TAIJUTSU! NO WEAPONS!" There was a groan or two before the metallic  _cling_ in the clearing stopped completely. The Jonin let a chuckle leave his mouth, "Those two, I swear."

Sakura giggled as well, "I know what you mean." She looked up at her teacher. Sensing her eyes on him, Kakashi looked down, nodding for her to say what was on her mind. "You said that you wanted to fix my taijutsu stance?" Another nod, "Why? It's the one the academy taught us."

Kakashi shook his head, "While the academy taijutsu stance is meant to be for everyone, it doesn't work for most people."

"It doesn't?" She cocked her head to the side.

Her teacher nodded his head, "Sasuke is an excellent example of this. The Uchiha clan have a specific taijutsu style that works for nearly all the Uchiha people, Sasuke included. I'm sure you noticed back in the academy that he wasn't proficient with the academy-style taijutsu and preferred to use the Uchiha-style taijutsu."

Sakura nodded her head quickly, "He does it so well! I'm surprised the academy teacher's didn't just let him start out with that style of taijutsu."

"I agree with you about that." Kakashi chuckled slightly, "I've also noticed that you seemed to have taken an interest in sharpshooting, therefore, you need a taijutsu that will fit your arsenal of abilities."

"Do you know of a certain style that I could use?" She blinked quickly, curiosity pulling at her mind.

The silver-haired man nodded quickly, "Yep! I'm sure you'll have this taijutsu stance down by no time and you'll be back in that clearing with Naruto and Sasuke, sparring your heart out."

Sakura blushed at the compliment, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

He gave her an eye-smile, "Well, let's get to it then."

* * *

Naruto honestly wanted to flee. He wanted to stop looking in fascination at Shikamaru who hadn't noticed his staring yet. He wanted to, for some reason, touch the dark, medium length hair. He wanted to feel his friend's hair in his hands out of curiosity; was it soft or was it stiff? He wanted to look away, to make sure that Shikamaru wouldn't ever see the dark blush on his face. He wanted to, yet, he couldn't.

Earlier, Shikamaru complained about several flyaway on his hairline poking his eye every time the wind move and went to take his hair out to redo the ponytail holding back all that hair. Naruto watched in silent attraction as nimble pale fingers combed back the hair in quick practice, pulling out that dull colored hair tie. The medic-in-training knew that his eyes were wide, having remembered asking a question back in the academy of why Shikamaru never put his hair down. It was simply, as the Nara heir had revealed, that it made him look like a girl. Naruto never understood why that would be a problem; he'll never understand but he respected his friend's decision to keep it up. However, what had changed?

The dark-haired boy's hair was down for less than a minute, but it gave Naruto all the while to look at it with curiosity in those big, blue eyes. It wasn't straight – like what the medic-in-training had originally thought it to be – nor was it wavy, it was somewhere in between. Shikamaru's hair seemed darker the closer it was to the scalp, the color dulling the more it got down to the tips. Naruto vaguely heard the other boy grumble about bad tips, a term the medic-in-training had never heard before.

Shikamaru sighed, "You're staring."

The blush that was already present grew, covering nearly the entirety of the other boy's face, "W-W-What?"

The Nara heir tried not to chuckle, hand up and entangled in his hair, trying to grope the strands together so he could put his ponytail back up, "You were staring an awfully long time. Something interest you?"

"U-U-Uh, well, you s-see..." Naruto trailed of, feeling as if he could faint, having been caught red-handed or should he say red-faced, the blush ever present on his face, "Back in the a-academy, you said it m-made you look like a g-girl so you never put your h-hair down... but you just did a-and I didn't know what to e-expect." The words were quickly thrown out, making Shikamaru stop for a second.

"I did?" A nod from the blond-haired boy was his answer, as Shikamaru looked away, "Well, it does."

"Then, why put it d-down in front of me?" He chastised himself for stuttering so much. Over the years, Naruto's found that when he gets flustered or embarrassed, words don't seem to work anymore.

The black-haired boy turned to stare into wide blue eyes, "Because I trust you not to make fun of me for having long hair."

Redness darkened on the boy's face as he shyly smiles, "W-Well, you're right. It's a g-good look for you."

Shikamaru blinked quickly, a blush creeping on his face, "T-Thanks."

"You s-should let it down more often." Naruto admitted, mind halting at the words. He didn't mean to say that but couldn't help himself. Especially at the awed blush on the Nara's face.

Black eyes looked away from the medic-in-training, "You t-think so?"

"Y-Yeah, and it d-doesn't make you look like a girl at all." He stated.

"Don't lie, Naruto." Shikamaru grumbled.

Naruto blinked, having not said a lie, "I'm being honest; it makes you look handsome." He froze, their eyes locking for a second. The two could see each other's surprise by the words, the blush that was already prominent on their faces darkening in color.  _"Look at what I've down now... Shikamaru probably thinks I'm weird now and wouldn't want to-"_ His thoughts were halted at the other boy's voice.

"Really?"

Naruto looked up, making quick eye contact with the other boy from a second or two, "Y-Yeah."

Shikamaru glanced at the ground, smiling slightly, "Thanks. No one's e-ever told me that b-before."

The medic-in-training's eyes widened once more, "W-What?"

"Yeah, that's the first time I've ever been called... h-handsome." He peeked up, trying to gauge Naruto's reaction.

He blushed at the stare, "Well, you should be called it more often." Naruto froze once more, the action not caught by the Nara heir who was trying to hide his blush with his hands.  _"I've got to stop just blurting out everything that comes to mind."_ He chastised himself, finally noticing the very flushed features of his friend.

Shikamaru smiled, eyes narrowed, "Are you the one who'll call me handsome more often?"

Naruto could feel more heat rising in his cheeks – as if it were physically possible – and felt his mind halting once more. Blue eyes gazed into black ones for a few seconds as a small smile appeared on the blond-haired boy's face, "Only if you'd like that."

"I would." He looked away, placing a hand on his cheeks as if trying to rub away the blush.

* * *

Sakura did not know how to describe the face Naruto wore as she approached the bridge she and her team were going to be meeting at for some more D-ranked missions. Kakashi wouldn't be there for another two hours, so they had some time to converse for a while. Right now, that seemed exactly what her blond-haired teammate needed. His face was full of concentration and utter confusion along with another emotion she couldn't yet describe. Sakura looked around for a second or two, not seeing her crush anywhere in sights. That gave her some time to talk to the other boy. "Naruto?" She called out once she got close enough.

He looked up, the same expression on his face except for the small smile that grew on his face, "Good morning, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl smiled back, "Are you okay? You look a little distraught."

"Yeah, it's just..." Naruto let out a deep sigh, looking down at his feet, a small blush growing on his face "I'm having a hard time dealing with some...  _whatever_ this could be."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sakura questioned, furrowing her eyebrows in concern.

He turned to look at her, "You have a crush on Sasuke, right?"

She nodded vigorously, "Yes! He is the hottest guy I've ever met and strong too!"

"What does that feel like... to have a crush, I mean?" Naruto asked.

Sakura stilled for a moment, the question working itself into her mind. She looked him in the eye, seeing seriousness in them. The blush already prominent on his face was darkening in color. A light bulb seemed to go off in her head, "You have a crush, don't you?"

"I... I don't know yet... I've n-never had a crush before." His face turned red as he stumbled on his words.

"Well, having a crush is very much like an ache in your heart." She stated.

"An ache? Does it hurt? Do I need to heal it?" Naruto said quickly.

Sakura laughed at his obvious innocence, "No, silly! It's a good kind of ache."

He raised his eyebrows in concern and interest, "That doesn't make any sense."

"It will if you'll let me speak!" She hissed out before smiling as the other quieted down, "Your heart aches whenever you are away from the person you're crushing on. You want to be around them always. You want to talk to them at every second. You can't stand to see them with someone else that could potentially be another admirer of your crush. Your heart beats ever so slightly when you are around them. You can't help but keep your eyes on them."

"Oh."

Sakura leaned in close, "Does that happen to you when you are around this person?"

"Sometimes..." Naruto's blush deepened, "When he compliments me or we have long talks about everything... and n-nothing. Or when we walk down the streets talking about all of our inside jokes and we have fun..." He drifted off, talking about all the things they do together. Sakura listened throughout the entirety of his ramblings. Although she didn't miss when Naruto said 'he' instead of 'she', it didn't bother her in the slightest. Plus, in her opinion, gay couples were cuter than straight ones by far so she was a firm supporter of Naruto and  _whoever_ this other guy was. She had a thought of who it could be but wasn't completely sure. By the end of his talk about his supposed crush, he looked her in the eye. "I have a crush, don't I?" He whispered out, but Sakura didn't miss seeing that small smile on his face.

"Yes, yes you do." She grinned, pulling him into a hug, "I support you two through and through!"

"R-Really?" He blinked in surprise, his smile growing bigger.

"But, of course!" Sakura laughed out loud in excitement.

Naruto returned the hug, "Thank you, Sakura! That really means a lot to me!"

"Did I miss something?" A monotone voice came from the end of the bridge.

Sakura's and Naruto's heads turn to look at Sasuke. "We're having a friendship moment!" They shouted nearly at the same time. They turned to each other and giggled.

"You want to join in on the hug?" The blond-haired boy suggested, face glowing with happiness.

"No."

"Please?" The only female on their team fluttered her eyelashes, "I won't beg you to go out with me for the rest of the week if you hug Naruto with me."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the suggestion. Although Sakura was one of his mega fangirls, ever since she got on this team, she's learned how to give him space. He knew that she would never stop asking him out or telling him that she loved him. However, the suggestion was too good to be true for his liking and he was having a bad week. He turned to look at his hugging teammates, Naruto's pure joy dawning on him. Whatever those two were talking made the blond-haired boy happy. He scowled, walking over to the two and wrapping an arm around Naruto's neck and the other around Sakura's neck. "I am never going to do this again, so don't get used to it." He mumbled out.

Naruto let out a blissful laugh, one that took his other two teammates off guard, "Thank you two so much!"

Sakura grinned, squeezing him, "You're welcome, Naruto, I'm so happy for you!"

Sasuke had to suppress a smile, "Whatever."

" _They sure do grow up quickly."_ Kakashi, who'd been hiding somewhere close by, mulled to himself. He was glad that he decided to pop by earlier than he usually appeared to see what his little gennin did when he wasn't around.  _"I have such great gennins!"_ He mentally cheered to himself.


	13. Getting Things Going

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, leaning against the wall while looking at one of the other patient's medical reports from radiology. He was going over, in his head, what actions should be taken for the person. He's not a doctor so he wouldn't be able to prescribe anything for them once they've been discharged from the hospital so he'd have to go to Terra or Yiruma with the information on what to do. They trusted his gut feeling and all-around knowledge on medical ninjutsu enough to follow his instructions on most of his patients.

"Um, excuse, young man?" An older voice questioned from in front of him.

The blond-haired boy looked up, eyes lighting up with recognition, "Ah, Mr. Suchimaru, good morning. How may I help you?"

The old man gave a nasty phlegm cough, something that did not concern Naruto for it had been diagnosed as simple allergies last week. He rubbed his throat, blinking back tears before turning back to the medic-in-training, "I'm looking for my wife. She came in her a few days ago."

"Your wife is down the hall, fourth door on the right. Let me know if you need some more assistance, Mr. Suchimaru." Naruto smiled.

"Thank you, young man." He bowed his head and shuffled towards his wife's room.

He was about to go back to his report when a hand fell on the medic-in-training's shoulder, making him turn towards the person beside him. Terra grinned, "You've become a star, kid."

He reddened at the word, sheepishly looking down at the ground, "S-Star? No, I'm just... uh, ah..." He couldn't think of anything to say as the doctor laughed heartedly.

"Stop being so modest, Naruto, it's very unbecoming of a medic. Plus, I have some of my more well-known patients asking for you to be in the room because," She lifted her hands up in air quotes, "'you brighten up the room'. People  _love_ you!"

Naruto's blush deepened, "They do?"

"Well,  _duh_! Have you  _seen_ the effect you've had on other people? They literally are  _floored_  whenever you walk in through the doors. You're like a big ball of sunshine and rainbows that just brightens everyone's days. Yiruma and Chakochi talk about all the good you've done every day and brag about you every chance they get." Terra chuckled, "You're a recognizable face in the hospital by now."

He smiled at the thought, "That's...  _really_ surprising."

"Not really, I was kind of expecting this kind of popularity. A twelve-year-old working at a hospital? That's something that's never been seen before. A twelve-year-old working at a hospital and being on par with our non-medical ninjutsu team? That's completely unheard of in the medical field. A twelve-year-old learning medical ninjutsu and trying to be an aspiring ninja at the same time? Yeah, that's never happened before." She stated, "So, keep your head high and just remember what you know."

He nodded as a nurse ran up to the two of them. She gave them a weary smile, eyes flicking between them before settling on the older woman, "Dr. Terra."

"Meimei, good morning." She said.

The blond-haired woman's eyes dulled with exhaustion, "Guess who just appeared?"

Terra raised her eyebrow, a quirk in her lip, "May I inquire who?"

"Our  _favorite_ patient." The nurse stated, sounding ready to pass out at the words from sudden fatigue.

"We have a 'favorite' patient?" Naruto questioned, eyebrows furrowing together.

The two women looked down at him. Terra laughed, "You weren't specialized enough to learn about him but I guess today would be a good day for you to meet our little man."

"Alright." He wasn't convinced as Meimei led them to one of the rooms in the ninja department of the hospital. Naruto sighed internally, still following the two as the nurse handed Terra the man's very  _thick_ medical record. He blinked a few times, staring at the report with interest as the woman turned to some of the newer sheets. "So, this patient, how many times has he been here before?" He questioned.

"Hundreds of time." Terra said nonchalantly, "That's why he's our favorite patient. Just wait, the minute you meet him, he'll be your favorite patient as well." They reached room 108 which was on the left of the ninja department down the main corridor. The nurse bowed her head and excused herself, having other patients to take care of and a coffee she needed to finish at her desk. The doctor waved her off before nodding her head towards the room.

Naruto walked in and blinked several times. Inside were two people, one on the bed and the other standing close by. Each had nearly the same hairstyle, loud voices booming in the room with joyous laughter mixed in there. Terra grinned down at his reaction. Naruto took another few steps inside the room, "Lee? Guy-sensei? What are you two doing here?"

At the mention of the duo's name, they turned towards him. Light and recognition burst inside the older boy's eyes, furry eyebrows raising in excitement, "Naruto-kun! Thank you for visiting me! It's a delight to meet you once more!"

The doctor chuckled, pulling Guy to the side to discuss what had happened before inserting something into their conversation, "Naruto actually works here."

"Woah!" Stars appeared in the black-haired boy's eyes, "That's amazing, Naruto-kun! Are you a medic like Chakochi-san or Yiruma-san?"

Naruto felt surprised by the other gennin knowing about Chakochi – a fellow medic in the hospital – and Yiruma – the head medic – but didn't let his surprise hold the conversation. He smiled warmly, pulling up one of the rolling seats beside the bed and sitting down on it, "I'm actually a medic-in-training but I hope to reach Dr. Chakochi's and Dr. Yiruma's level one day."

"Yosh! That's the spirit!" Lee grinned brightly, making the other boy's smile widen, "The flames of youth burn deep within you!"

Naruto gave him an eye-smile, something he'd picked up from Kakashi when you wanted to show gratitude without saying something. After another few seconds of smiling and grinning at each other, a seriousness fell over the room. Naruto stared intently into the other boy's dark eyes, "Now, Lee, I've got to ask. What happened? You're obviously injured somehow."

Lee glanced at the floor, neither boys noticing the doctor and teacher staring at the exchange with small smiles on their faces. He peeked up, "Guy-sensei and I overdid my training."

He scooted closer, the wheels squeaking slightly on the tiled floor, "What kind of training are we talking about?"

"The training is to help me use all the eight gates. While we were training so that I could use the second gate, something just really  _hurt_. Guy-sensei thinks that I tore something in my legs." The black-haired boy said.

"Hm." Naruto thought for a second, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. The two adults could see that he was on to something. He stood up, taking a step back and reached for the medical report that Terra had set down earlier. Lee, having noticed him take a step back, looked up and tried to peek at what he was looking at. He sat back in the chair, the seat squeaking at the movement. "Dr. Terra." He suddenly said, getting the older woman's attention.

"Did you think of something, Naruto?" She questioned, hope building up in her chest.

"These injuries." He pointed to a few of the sheets that had a full body report on the wounds Lee had sustained due to the eight gates training, "They could have been prevented." The room was dead silent.

"W-What?" Terra and Guy sputtered at the same time.

"I could have prevented them?" Lee's soft voice halted all other conversation.

Naruto smiled, catching the older boy off guard, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder which seemed to ease some of the boy's anxiousness, "Maybe not you, but a medic could have prevented most – if not  _all_  – of the wounds you sustained from trying to open one or more of the eight gates."

"How do you know?" Guy suddenly asked, seriousness in his voice.

Naruto turned to look at the adults, a criticalness in his eyes as he spoke, "Well, back when I was in the academy where all I did was read medical texts and made hundreds of  _thousands_  of notes, I accidentally grabbed the wrong book at the library. It was a stupid mistake on my part but I did end up learning a few interesting things from it. The book itself wasn't very long or descriptive, but there were a few sections that were about the eight gates and how it could enhance someone's abilities tenfold." The medic-in-training looked around the room to make sure that everyone was still on board with his train of thought. "I read some more about it due to just plain curiosity about the subject; I even asked Jiji – the Third Hokage – about it. After learning a little bit about it, mostly about how costly it is to your body, I... kind of proposed an idea around that time about the eight gates." Everyone's interest seemed peeked so he kept going, "I wondered if it was possible to balance out the imbalances of trying to open one of the gates with healing chakra. It would have been an excellent hypothesis. However, I'd never seen the eight gates in action or any wound that was sustained by it. Though, from looking at it now, I'm almost positive that with a little – or a  _lot_  – of healing chakra, the wounds would be less severe and wouldn't land Lee in the hospital."

The room was silent for a good few seconds before Terra smiled widely, "Naruto, you never cease to amaze me."

He blushed at the compliment, "Yeah?"

"Yosh, Naruto-kun! That is amazing!" Lee cheered, "You're so smart and inventive!"

"I'm g-glad you think so." The blond-haired boy smiled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Guy grinned widely, giving the gennin a thumbs-up, "Naruto! Keep up the amazing work!"

"I'll try." He bowed his head politely.

For the next few minutes, the four congregated about the process of trying to balance something so  _unbalanced_ like using the eight gates. Terra immediately volunteered Naruto – against his will, mind you – to go with Guy and Lee one day to try and help them with their eight gates training. They had decided to work on it the coming Sunday since that was one of Naruto's free days where he didn't have any gennin duties, work at the hospital, or training that needed to be done. This was also convenient for Guy and Lee since their training days were Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays with nothing else on their plate.

Sunday it is.

* * *

Shikaku thumbed the report from the Third Hokage, reading the words quickly, analyzing all the possibilities that could come from it. He and Hiruzen were currently collaborating on likely scenarios that could come from the suspicious actions flittering through their allies. There was a complete lack of communication with Sunagakure and different items stopped being imported altogether the last few weeks. Konohagakure and Sunagakure have been allies since Hiruzen had been Hokage, something was  _definitely_  going on.

As for Otogakure? The Hidden Sound Village arose seemingly overnight, bustling with lifeforms never seen before by other village's observant eyes. The main villages around the world fought for a new ally, Otogakure declining each of them. Konohagakure had stayed out of the fight for Otogakure as their ally since they didn't know whether the village could be trusted or not. There were many strange occurrences that surrounded it but could not be proved by simple means. However, it was actually Otogakure that reached out to Konohagakure for a potential ally. With much discussion, the Third Hokage allowed them to become allies of Konohagakure. Though, the strange occurrences continued throughout the entirety of their alliance.

Something was going on and Shikaku was going to find out what.

"Hey, Dad." A sudden voice from the doorway, alerting the older man that his son was there, not that he didn't already sense the boy's chakra signal moving closer to the room. Shikamaru stared at his father who was hunched over different papers, a glazed look in his eyes, "Oh, are you busy? I can come back later."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing together at his son's voice. There was something different about it; it wavered more as if the boy was undecided about something or pondering something. He turned his head to look at his son. The twelve-year-old's thumb was running up and down in between his middle and ring finger, a sign that the young gennin was anxious about something or needed to talk about something. Shikaku pushed his papers into a neat stack before standing up. As he stretched, he kept an eye on the black-haired boy, "Is there something you wished to speak with me about?"

"Uh..." A blank look fell over Shikamaru's face before he blinked a few times, "Well, yeah, I guess... if you're not busy."

The older of the two nodded his head, "Come, we'll talk it over a game of shogi."

"Alright." He stated, following his father towards one of the rooms down the main hallway of their house inside the Nara compound. Shikaku slid the door open with a quick pull, walking in and sitting down at the board. The other followed suit, pulling the door shut behind him and sitting in front of his father. The two were silent as they put the pieces on the board, getting ready to play.

While they set up, Shikaku kept an eye on his son, watching the boy's movement and responses to the environment around him. Shikamaru didn't keep eye contact for long but he rarely did when the two of them played shogi, however, there was some anxiousness to his eyes; a worry that made the older Nara confused. The genin's shoulders were tense and his fingers kept messing with each other by his side as the shogi board was finally set. Shikaku moved first – he was always first – before looking up at his son, the boy deliberating on what he wanted to move first. "So," He started, "you wanted to talk?"

Shikamaru made his move, his father instantly moving a piece after his; he shouldn't have moved there, the older man already knew what he was going to do. He thought for a few more seconds on what he should move next before following his gut instinct and moving his next piece. He gave a quiet sigh, "Yeah, I did. It's kind of... hard to explain, I guess."

Shikaku listened quietly before making his next move, "Well, then just say it. Don't go beating around the bush if it's already hard to explain."

The black-haired boy nodded, moving once more. He took a deep breath, "Dad, I think I'm gay."

The intelligent man was about to move another one of his pieces but stopped, the pentagonal-shaped shogi piece lifted in the air slightly. He flicked his eyes to stare at the boy who looked extremely uncomfortable. He sighed, quietly setting down the piece, his turn finished. Shikaku raised his hand, stopping his son from taking his turn. "You  _think_ you're gay?" He questioned.

Shikamaru looked away from the prying eyes of his father, "Well, yeah. I've just started to... recently think of g-guys in that kind of light, sort of..."

"What do you mean by sort of?" There was no malice or anger, just sheer confusion in the man's voice. This seemed to ease the black-haired boy.

"I only just started having these strange...  _feelings_ towards one of my closest friends... who happens to be a guy." Shikamaru said, peeking into his father's eyes.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "Choji?"

A blush fell on his face in embarrassment, "N-N-No! No! No way! We're  _best friends_ , I don't see him like that. He's more of a brother to me than a... um, b-b-boyfriend."

"Naruto?" He questioned.

Red seeped completely into Shikamaru's face, eyes wide and frantic looking, "I... u-um, well..."

"It's Naruto, isn't it?" Shikaku didn't even need the answer to the question, it was written on the boy's face, "That's fine and all but, I've got to ask, why do you think you're gay? Why not bisexual? There had to have been some girl that caught your eye."

"There really hasn't been any girls that have caught my eye. I've never felt like  _this_ before for any of the girls I've met around my age. I have a few friends who happen to be girls but none of them feel like someone I want to spend the rest of my life with... so that rules out bisexual, I think." Shikamaru sighed, "So... I kind of leaned towards thinking I was gay because... Naruto, he's kind of... all I think about since..." He trailed off, eyes looking distant.

"Since...? Since what? Did something happen between you two?" His father questioned, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

The younger Nara sighed slightly, a small smile appearing on his face, "A few weeks ago, Naruto saw me with my hair down for the first time."

Shikaku blinked, "You... let your hair down... in front of  _him_?" His son nodded slowly. "That's  _very_ surprising. You never let your hair down  _especially_ if there are other people around." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yeah, but I honestly felt like I could trust him with seeing me with my hair down." He looked away.

"Well, what did he say? Or did you guys have like... an accidental kiss?" He questioned, earning a bright red blush from his son.

"N-N-No, it's nothing like t-that... uh, um..." Shikamaru sighed, calming his racing heart, "Back in the academy, Naruto had asked me why I never put my hair down. It honestly makes me look like a girl but it would be too troublesome to cut it. Well, he said that having my hair down... was a, um... g-good look for me."

Shikaku tried to keep the smile off his face, nodding his head slightly, "Anything else?"

"Then he called me h-h-handsome and I just... it made my h-heart beat so fast and my face was so  _r-red_!" He stuffed his flushed face into his face, "I d-didn't know how to react but I r-really liked being called h-handsome... especially by N-Naruto."

"Sounds like you have one hell-of-a-crush." The black-haired man grinned, the shogi game long forgotten.

"I guess I do," Shikamaru mumbled into his hands, neither Nara noticing the grinning mother standing at the door listening in on their conversation.

Her baby was in love!


	14. Friendships

Naruto's eyes shot open with sudden terror, a loud pounding on his door. He sat up, thin blankets pooling around his waist as the medic-in-training's heart started to slow from surprise. The blond-haired gennin looked to his alarm clock, an exhausted sigh leaving his mouth,  _"3:11 a.m."_ The frantic pounding on his door continued, shuffling coming from outside. Naruto yawned, rubbing his eyes before walking towards the door. Turning the doorknob, he froze in shock, "S-Sasuke?"

The Uchiha was looking at the ground with a pained expression. "Can I come in?" There was something in his voice that made his teammate's blood run cold.

"Yeah, of course." He stood to the side, keeping the door wide open and allowing Sasuke to walk in... or rather limp inside. Naruto's eyes followed his teammate as he limped towards the couch. That's when he finally noticed the black-haired gennin clutching his bleeding arm tightly. "Oh Kami, Sasuke, what did you do?" He frantically questioned, shutting the door and heading over to where the Uchiha was seated, his exhaustion completely forgotten.

Sasuke blinked slowly, staring into worried blue eyes before glancing at his bleeding arm, "Oh, this... it's nothing."

Naruto gave him a look, one that made the Uchiha look away. "What really happened?" He questioned, sitting beside him, hands hovering over the open wound. The medic-in-training took a deep breath, letting chakra consume his hands; he began to heal Sasuke's injury.

"It was an accident." He whispered after a while, "I was doing some midnight training and my arm caught on fire."

Naruto's hands stilled for a few seconds as he processed the information before swallowing back his shock, trying to keep his concentration, "Why were you training at midnight?"

Sasuke thought for a few seconds, glancing at the medic-in-training before sighing deeply, "I couldn't sleep."

"Why?" He didn't say anything, silence consuming Naruto's apartment. The blond-haired boy looked up, hands still healing his arm, "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Naruto."

"Hm?"

"How many times have you ever seen someone die?" He whispered. Naruto became quiet, eyes darkening a certain degree. He bit his lip, looking completely uncomfortable. Sasuke noticed immediately, shoulders sagging, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Hundreds."

"What?" He blinked in surprise.

"Hundreds, perhaps even as close to a thousand people." Naruto's voice was monotone, dull eyes staring into black ones, "That's how many people I've seen die."

Sasuke sucked in a breath, shutting his eyes. There was a discreet pain on his face, something his teammate could see easily. "How?" The Uchiha's voice was but a whisper, making Naruto raise his eyebrows, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" The boy asked.

"How do you go on about your life like you didn't just see dead bodies littering the..." His voice trailed off, eyes widening for a second.

Naruto dropped his hands, the wound finally healed, "This is about your clan, isn't it?"

The Uchiha looked away, almost in shame, "Yeah..."

"Sasuke, it's okay to be upset." He gave his teammate a small smile, placing a hand on his back, "There's nothing wrong with it."

"But how do you forget about it? How do you go on with your life?" The black-haired gennin's voice was a mere whisper, harsh and to the point.

He looked away, "You never really forget about it, not really."

"What?" Sasuke turned to the medic-in-training with wide eyes, "B-But you're always so happy and you j-just... you never..."

"Never cry about it? Never... talk about all the things I see at the hospital? Never let anything stop me?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, getting a slow nod from the Uchiha, "It would be a lie if I said that it's true."

"What?"

"I cry... a lot, especially after I get home from some of the more... heart-wrenching cases at the hospital." There was a far-away look in his eyes, matureness in his face, "You never truly get those mangled, battered, bruised, bloody, and  _very_  dead bodies out of your mind, not ever." Sasuke stared at his shaking hands, turning to look at his teammate who gave him a grim smile. "Being a medic isn't all what it's cracked up to be. You can save as many lives as you want but the guilt never truly leaves you." He blinked quickly, trying to banish the tears rising in his eyes, "You can't always save everyone and that's the truth."

"How do I make it stop? How do I go on with my life?" The Uchiha whispered after a few minutes of silence.

"You surround yourself with people who care about you. You protect those who are precious to you and you never stop." Naruto admitted.

Sasuke smiled slightly, "Thanks, Naruto."

"You're welcome." He grinned.

* * *

Naruto clutched his sides, laughing until tears were popping in his eyes. Terra pointed at him, face red with laughter, the two continuing their giggling spree. Yiruma was in front of the two, hand clutched over his mouth as he tried not to laugh while the food was in his mouth. He gagged a little bit making his friends howl with laughter. There was a snort from beside him, the room going silent. Chakochi's hand flew to cover her face in embarrassment, silence being replaced by the deafening laughter of the group; just a head-medic, a retired medic, a doctor, and a medic-in-training having a grand time. No one could even remember what they had been talking about or what had sprung such a blissful time of laughter upon them but it was beautiful and most definitely funny.

"Ah! I'm g-going to die!" Yiruma choked with laughter, voice raw and hoarse.

Terra whipped a stray tear from her face, breathing deeply to try and control herself, "I haven't laughed that hard in  _ages_."

"Oh, come on, you're not  _that_ old." Naruto grinned, snickering behind his hand.

"Not  _that_ old?!" The doctor smirked, "What's that supposed to mean, you little snot-head?!" Terra was about to ruffle the medic-in-training's head but was stopped by a strangled short from Chakochi.

"S-Stop it you two!" She laughed, "My poor heart can't handle this!"

The gennin slapped a hand to his face, sarcasm in his words, "Oh no, she's going into cardiac arrest!"

"Oh dear!" The head-medic cried out, "Not again, Naruto, make a funny noise, it could bring her back."

The blond-haired boy made a sound that mimicked Chakochi's laughter but he couldn't quite get the pitch right, making the retired medic burst out laughing. "Sir, I don't think it's working!" Naruto shouted back.

Terra cracked her knuckles, scooting closer to the other woman, "Here, let me try!" The eldest of the group started to make funny faces.

Tears crawled their way into Chakochi's eyes as she clutched her slide with one hand, the other banging on the table, "O-Oh Kami, please, stop! My l-lungs, they can't handle it!"

"Dr. Yiruma, Dr. Terra, it's not working!" Naruto said quickly, "We have to use it."

The woman beside him gasped, "You don't mean-"

"Naruto, you don't know if it'll work!" Yiruma sarcastically gasped, hand on his forehead.

"It has to, it's the only way." The gennin stated, "Serious face: activated." In an instant, the doctor's, head-medic's, and medic-in-training's face slipped into a cold, serious gaze. Their eyes stared into Chakochi's own, making her spit out her tea, choking back her laughter. The three continued to stare, mouths twitching; it was becoming overwhelming, they wouldn't last long. Chakochi snorted once more, making the three in front of her burst out laughing. The group started to slip back into what was before, pure and utterly blissful happiness.

Naruto missed this stress-free life, one that didn't have people's lives hanging over your head. He missed the laughter and the fun hangouts after school and what could have been. He missed not having to search for dangerous things while out and about. He missed not having a care in the world, no worry to plague him. He missed not having the anxiety. However, nothing could ever replace the friendships that he had created while following this path of a medic. Naruto and Sasuke had patched up their friendship like how it was before the Uchiha clan was murdered. Naruto and Sakura were closer than ever; he could practically call her his sister. And Kakashi? Naruto felt proud to say that they've gotten pretty close as of lately and Kakashi had stopped being  _as_ late.

Things were going pretty well for them.

* * *

"Ew! You like tomatoes?" Sakura gawked, hand on his chest as if you'd just insulted her, "Those are the nastiest vegetables I've ever had."

"Correction, tomatoes are actually fruits," Kakashi stated in a monotone voice, flipping to the next page of his book.

She huffed, glaring at her teacher before turning to look back at her crush, "Well, my opinion still stands."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Tomatoes are delicious."

"And very nutritional!" Naruto pipped in, "There are so many vitamins and minerals that your body needs in order to-"

"Yeah, we get it." Sakura said, chuckling slightly, "But, Sasuke, how could they be your favorite food? I thought something like a steak would be your favorite food?"

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest, "Steak is actually one of my least favorite foods."

Her eyes widened in shock, "Wow, I'm learnings so many things today."

Kakashi chuckled beside them, "We can save this conversation for another day, my adorable gennin, it's time for another mission." He opened the door to the Hokage's office and held it open for his gennin. They walked in without a word.

Not even a step in and Naruto already had that  _look_ on his face, "Really, Jiji?"

The Third Hokage looked up after drawing in a long breath from his pipe. He coughed twice before putting it away, "A-Ah, Naruto, it is good to see you this morning. I see that you and your team are here for another mission. Well, let's see what we have for today... There is a young woman looking for-"

"Jiji." The medic-in-training stated with a little more force, "Do you know how bad smoking is for you?"

The older man chuckled, shaking his head, "You're not the first to tell me, Naruto."

His team snickered beside him. Naruto rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, you're going to hear it again."

"Not again," Sasuke mumbled out, making Sakura cover her mouth as to not laugh.

"First Asuma-sensei, not Lord Third." Sakura grinned, looking up at her teacher only to see an amused eye smile in place on his face.

"First of all, there are over 4,800 chemicals inside of a  _single_ cigarette, 69 of these chemicals known to cause cancer. Do you seriously want to take that chance? Hm?" There was that look again and Sakura tried to not laugh, "Out of five people, you could be the one who dies from smoking; do you want that? Plus, you lose a lot of money since you have to keep buying tobacco!"

"Naruto-"

"Hey, if you're going to smoke, then I'm going to tell you all the disadvantages of smoking!" He crossed his arms in a defensive stand, continuing on, "By smoking, you are causing everyone around you to be second-hand smoking; you could have just given Sasuke cancer, Jiji!"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, "Don't bring me into this."

"By being my teammate, you were bound to be in this." Naruto stated without missing a beat making Sakura bark out with laughter while Kakashi tried to hide his giggle, "You could have a serious illness that you don't even know about, Jiji; when was your last checkup?"

The Third Hokage thought for a second, humming slightly, "About a decade ago?"

He gawked at the older man, "You have to go at least every six months! That's what Dr. Terra tells me all the time; you have to go, Jiji!"

Hiruzen shrugged, "I'm a busy man, I don't have time to go to the doctor's and-"

"Then make time." Naruto said quickly, "You could have cancer or some other illness that we don't know of!"

"I'm aware of the risks, Naruto." The older man stated.

"Well, apparently not because you still smoke." He huffed.

Hiruzen's hand itched to take another puff, "Some people smoke just because they want to."

"Then stop wanting to smoke," Naruto said, looking away.

"It's not that simple, Naruto." He said, eyes shutting.

"Do you even  _want_ to quit?" Naruto questioned slowly.

"Sometimes." The Third Hokage stated, opening an eye to look at the medic-in-training.

The blond-haired gennin was quiet for a second or two, "I'm telling Dr. Terra that you need a checkup and to specifically look at your lungs. Possibly an MRI as well to see if there are any chances of a tumor in your body. That should lower the risks of something going unnoticed for this long. I'm also going to talk to Dr. Chakochi and ask her opinion on some vitamins and supplements for someone who smokes because I'm sure your body is being starved by the tobacco and chemicals inside of your pipe. Also, when was the last time you cleaned that? You could be ill from an unclean pipe."

The room was silent for a second before Hiruzen smiled and shook his head slightly. When will Naruto learn that not everyone can be saved? However, this small conversation  _did_ make him want to put more effort into quitting.

* * *

"Good morning, everyone!" Guy grinned, thumbs in the air, his three students standing in front of him.

Tenten gave a tired smile, leaning towards Neji, whispering low enough so that her exuberant teacher wouldn't hear her, "He's always so loud; he's giving me a headache and I haven't even been around him for half an hour."

The Hyuuga snorted slightly at the unexpected comment but quickly regained his composure, eyes looking over at the near-identical individuals, "They seem overly excited about something."

"You noticed too?" Her teammate gave her a know-it-all-look, making the brunette roll her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I get. Think we're about to go another mission?"

He shook his head, "Guy-sensei would have already told us if we had one by now. We've been standing in the middle of the training ground for nearly thirty minutes without getting information for a mission or started our training."

"Ah, right." She hummed, tapping her finger against her chin, "Think we're waiting on something?"

"Or someone." Neji murmured, pointing in the opposite direction from where the two stood. Out from the bushes and trees, exploded a kid about a year younger than the students of Team 3. He had bright blond hair and exuberant blue eyes. The kid grinned in their direction, stopping to jog the rest of the way there. There was a small smile on his face, pink decorating his cheeks. "I feel like I've seen him before..." He whispered to the only female on his team.

The kid sighed, "I am so sorry to keep you waiting, Guy-sensei, Lee."

The two brunettes gave each other a curious look as this newcomer stood in between all of them. Tenten turned to her teacher, "Hey, Guy-sensei?"

"Yes, Tenten?" The man raised his large eyebrows in question.

She turned to the blond-haired boy, "Not to be rude at all, but who is he?"

Lee gaped at them, "How could you not remember Naruto-kun?!"

Neji blinked in recognition, "Ah right, Naruto Uzumaki, teammates with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno under the teachings of Kakashi Hatake."

Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah, we met a little while ago at the Hokage tower. You four were going for another C-ranked when we ran into each other. It's nice to see you again."

"The pleasure is all ours!" Guy gave the medic-in-training a thumbs up, getting a large smile out of the boy, "Naruto, I hope that you don't mind me inviting the rest of the team. I thought those two could spar while you helped us today."

He waved his hand politely, dismissing it, "Ah, it's quite alright, promise."

"Then let us begin, shall we." The older man grinned once more, "Tenten, Neji, why don't you go start your weapons training while Naruto and Lee get situated over here."

"Yes, sir!" The two brunettes called out together, keeping a close eye on the newcomer.

"Naruto-kun, I am so excited!" Lee bounced, a bright smile on his face.

Returning the gesture, Naruto pulled his bag out from behind him, "I couldn't agree with you less." He rummaged for a bit in his bad before pulling out three yellow pills. Neji and Tenten stopped what they were doing to stare with curious eyes. "These are what I'd like to test today to help with opening the eight gates." Team 3's eyes widened slightly, "I would like to try two types of things. Lee, which one of the gates is the most uncomfortable for you to use without having repercussions?"

"Without having repercussions..." The black-haired gennin thought it over for a second, "It would have to be gate two. Past that point, things start to hurt or break."

"Alright, so, I want you to enter that mode and we will continue it from there," Naruto stated. Neji and Tenten weren't even allowing themselves to start training, they were too invested in what was happening beside them.

Lee took a deep breath, getting into a stance, eyes shutting. Tension started to collect above the watchers' heads as they watched him power up. His eyes shot open, "Gate of Opening: Open!" The first of the eight gates opened, the restraints on Lee's brain being removed in front of their eyes. His muscles pulsed twice before locking in place, tense with strain. Lee took a second to breathe, getting comfortable with this gate. "Gate of Healing: Open!" He called out after another second. He grits his teeth as energy flew through his body, temporarily that is. The black-haired gennin looked at Naruto, "Now what?"

"Guy-sensei, give him some training exercises to do. I have to record them to get a good grasp on it." The medic-in-training stated seriously, a quizzical look on his face.

The older man nodded once, "Lee, do one hundred pushups and run around the village once. Start."

Naruto eyes widened, a large smile on his face in amazement as Lee was nearly a quarter done with the pushups in nearly five seconds. "That's amazing." He breathed out, eyes recording everything he saw before his hands grabbed a notebook, writing it down as he watched. Less than a minute later, Lee took off to run around the village. "Wow."

"Never seen anyone train after unlocking a gate, huh?" Tenten questioned after a second or two.

"No way, this exceeded my every expectation on it." Naruto grinned.

Neji scoffed, rolling his eyes, "How do you even expect to help if you don't have any knowledge with the eight gates?"

"Neji, you shouldn't be so rude to someone you barely know." Guy stated, a look in his eyes, "He's trying his best."

"Ah, Guy-sensei, it's alright." Naruto turned to the Hyuuga, "I understand your concerns, Neji, but I am well-equipped and I, theoretically, have already figured out the problem."

"And that would be?" He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest, a cocky smirk on his lips.

The medic-in-training smiled, recording down the time, "You'll have to wait and see."

Lee appeared next to him in seconds, "I have completed it, Guy-sensei. What do I do now, Naruto-kun?"

"From what I've just seen, your body is gaining temporary and artificial substance from the gates. It tricks your mind into thinking that you are stronger and faster when, in reality, you're still the same." Naruto stated in a matter-of-fact tone, before pulling out one of the yellow-looking soldier pills, "This is specifically designed for someone using the eight gates." He shot Lee and Guy a look before continuing. "There is an unbalanced nature to your body when using the eight gates. This will help balance the unbalanced and will leave you with virtually no wounds when using this."

"Woah!" Lee's eyes sparkled, "That's amazing, Naruto-kun!"

He grinned, "Glad you think so. However, I must warn you, I'm not quite sure of the side effects. I do have a counter to this pill so you don't have to worry about that. When you take one of these, please tell me how you feel because if there are any inconsistencies to it, I will have to give you the counter to the pill and I'll have to head back to the drawing board."

The gennin nodded slowly, plucking one of the pills out from Naruto's hand, "Thank you for doing this."

"Don't thank me yet." Naruto gave a half-smile, "We're not even sure it'll work."

"Still." Lee smiled generously, popping it into his mouth. A solid  _crunch_  filled the quiet training ground as the black-haired teenager started to chew the pill down, swallowing it quickly. He froze, a quick exhale as his fingers trembled.

The medic-in-training gave him a worried look, "Lee? How do you feel?"

The teenager's eyes widened a degree, a large grin widening on his face, "Excellent! I haven't felt this energized in a while!" He jumped up, leaving a tiny crater on the ground.

Naruto gave a satisfied grin, hiding his amusement, "Anything else?"

"There is so much energy flowing through me; it must be the power of youth!" Lee cheered, "Thank you, Naruto!"

"We're not done yet." He chuckled, "I want you to go to the third gate."

Guy gave the medic-in-training a look, "Are you sure? He hasn't really gotten the hang of that one yet."

"I'm positive." Naruto stated seriously, noticing the worry in the teacher's eyes, "Don't worry, I'm on hand if things start to go south. I promise that I won't let anything happen to Lee on my watch." This seemed to help Team 3's teacher who relaxed slightly.

"Well, if you're sure..." Lee mumbled, eyes shutting. He lowered his body, getting into a slightly different stance from the one before. He exhaled and tried to stop his quivering muscles so that he could concentrate enough to unlock the third gate. "Gate of Life: Open!" A red pigment started to flood Lee's body, energy being released in waves. His teammates and teacher gave Naruto a worried look who didn't seem all that concerned.

"Do you feel any discomfort? Pain?" Naruto questioned.

Lee opened his eyes, looking at his hands. He stretched them a few times, the veins bulging under his skin. He blinked several times, realization hitting him, "Naruto-kun, I do not feel any pain!"

Guy's face broke out into a smile, "Naruto! You did it!" He gave the medic-in-training a thumbs-up. The two brunettes were equally shocked, gawking at the sight before them.

Naruto sighed with relief, "For a second there, I was starting to get scared. Want to spar for a second or two, Lee?"

"Naruto-kun, in this form, I feel as if it would be unfair." The black-haired gennin stated honestly.

He chuckled, "If I get hurt, I can easily patch myself back up. It's no big deal, Lee."

Lee turned to his teacher, worry plastered in his eyes, "Guy-sensei, is it okay?"

"Don't go all out and I'm sure he'll be fine." He stated honestly.

"Well, that's no fun, how else is he going to try out the third gate without repercussions if he's not allowed to go all out?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Guy hummed in thought, "Fine, Lee, if you find the need to go all out, then go ahead. Until then, test the waters and let the flames of youth flow through you!"

"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee grinned, "Come, Naruto-kun, let us spar!"

Naruto's arms illuminated the blue light, getting into a battle stance, a small smile on his face, "I won't hold back."


	15. Together

Shikamaru couldn't stop the feeling of guilt creeping around inside him. It lingered in his heart and stayed in his mind. The guilt was always there whenever he was around Naruto; it made him breathless, his blood rushing around quickly in his body. Said gennin laughed beside him, pointing at an obnoxiously shaped cloud. Shikamaru was too busy chastising himself for these  _feelings_  for one of his best friends.

_"Would you still be friends with me had I become that person?"_

_"Always."_

These troublesome feelings were getting in the way of his and Naruto's hang out times. It was the lingering thought that the two of them could be something more than friends; the thought scared Shikamaru. He'd never been with someone, let alone a guy. His dad seemed pretty okay with him having a crush on Naruto, but what if they got together and things got serious between them; would his dad still approve of them? He is, after all, an only child and the heir of the Nara clan. People would expect him to have children, not to adopt.

_"What about you? What motivates you?"_

_"Shogi... Mainly shogi. Hopefully, my sensei knows how to play."_

_"Really? Just shogi? Or are you just too lazy to think of any more?"_

_"No, it's just that you're not on my team so I can't list anymore."_

_"Oh. I... motivate you?"_

He nearly groaned out loud, unconsciously nodding at something Naruto had said about a cloud. Why is he already thinking about the two of them together? This crush could be nothing... or everything. What if Naruto doesn't like him back? The thought pained Shikamaru's heart in more ways than one. What happens if he tells Naruto that he has a crush on him and he no longer wants to be friends? Not being friends with the medic-in-training would absolutely destroy Shikamaru.

_"Back In the a-academy, you said it m-made you look like a g-girl so you never put your h-hair down... but you just did a-and I didn't know what to e-expect."_

_"I did? Well, it does."_

_"Then, why put it d-down in front of me?"_

_"Because I trust you not to make fun of me for having long hair."_

_"T-Thanks."_

Shikamaru's mind kept running around the idea of him and Naruto. They could be holding hands and walking down the streets without a care in the world or cloud watching like they were now. He'd wondered how his parents would react if he brought Naruto home to meet them personally. He'd thought about what it would be like to hug him; would he feel bony, squishy, thin, big, or small in his arms or would it be something completely different from his wildest dreams? Shikamaru couldn't even begin to think how nice and wonderful it might be to kiss Naruto.

_"You s-should let it down more often."_

_"You t-think so?"_

_"Y-Yeah, and it d-doesn't make you look like a girl at all."_

_"Don't lie, Naruto."_

The Nara heir could feel the heat rushing into his cheeks, mind completely unaware of his surroundings, of Naruto lying beside him with an arm crossed underneath his head and the other pointing to the sky with a bright and cheerful smile on his face or of the clouds making funny shapes in the sky. His thoughts were solely on what it would be like to  _be_ with  _Naruto_. What it would be like to call Naruto his boyfriend and vice versus. Or what their friends would think when they told of their relationship... if it were to ever happen. Shikamaru felt his throat tighten; the guilt was back. He couldn't push these feelings onto Naruto, who knows what the response would be. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't have a doubt in the world that Naruto would turn down his feelings, but he did. He's so scared to come out gay to one of his best friends, the one he's crushing on right now. The fear and the guilt is what is holding him back from telling Naruto right now that he wants to be in a relationship with him.

_"I'm being honest; it makes you look handsome."_

Naruto is just being friendly. He wouldn't be crushing on Shikamaru; it's not possible. He's lazy, a procrastinator, a stick-in-the-mud, a party-pooper, a nuisance. No one wants that in a relationship. Naruto deserves someone equally like him; bright, funny, happy-go-lucky, and mature. While Shikamaru might fit into the mature category, there was no way in hell that he would ever be a possible match for the medic-in-training. No way, never, not in a million years...

_"No one's e-ever told me that b-before."_

_"W-What?"_

_"Yeah, that's the first time I've ever been called... h-handsome."_

_"Well, you should be called it more often."_

Despite these doubts and guilty desires, Shikamaru still holds on to the thought of a relationship. He'll come out as gay and proclaim his love to one of his best friends, the who holds his heart. He wants this so badly, but why... why can't he just look over at Naruto and just tell him that he 'like-like's him? Why is it so hard to tell the medic-in-training that he has a crush on him? Why can't he build up his confidence and just do it already? Why is he so afraid of rejection?

" _Are you the one who'll call me handsome more often?"_

" _Only if you'd like that."_

" _I would."_

Shikamaru internally sighed, turning his head to look at the blond-haired gennin. His eyes were narrowed up at the sky, eyebrows raised, and lips curled into a small smile. He looked so angelic just lying there, the grass tickling the back of his body. How could he have missed this all those years leading up to his crush? Maybe he just didn't realize it himself until it was so blatantly in front of him? The Nara heir bit his lip and turned his head back to the sky. "Naruto?" His voice flowed out without control.

The medic-in-training jumped slightly, turning to look at him with those big blue eyes, "I thought you'd fallen asleep. You weren't responding so I was going to let you rest. Sorry if I woke you."

"No, it's... it's fine, really." Shikamaru stated, voice quaking slightly.

Naruto blinked slowly, "Hey, are you okay? You seem a bit off."

"Can I..." He nearly chastised himself for hesitating, "Can I ask you a q-question?"

He smiled at the black-haired gennin, "Yeah, of course!" Naruto moved to lie on his stomach, undivided attention solely on him; it made him nervous.

Shikamaru peeked at the thirteen-year-old, "Did you mean it?"

The boy cocked his head to the side, "Mean what?"

"That I'm handsome..." The words sounded so dumb out loud.

Pink started to seep into Naruto's cheeks as his fingers played with the grass underneath him, "Absolutely."

The quick answer nearly caught Shikamaru off-guard, making his cheeks redden quickly. "You didn't even hesitate." He mumbled to himself, not realizing that the other boy had heard.

"Well, it's true." The medic-in-training grinned, "I wouldn't lie to someone I care about."

" _Someone I care about..."_ The words echoed in Shikamaru's head, making him feel embarrassed. His throat tightened up again; should he do it? Should he just ask? Why is he hesitating? What if Naruto doesn't like him back?

" _It's a g-good look for you."_

Did he mean it?

" _You s-should let it down more often."_

Is it true?

"Shikamaru?"

" _Y-Yeah, and it d-doesn't make you look like a girl at all."_

Is he lying?

"Hey, you okay?" The blond-haired gennin questioned. Shikamaru didn't say anything, quickly sitting up straight. Naruto stared at him with confusion in his eyes, slowly sitting up as well. He watched at the Nara heir reached behind his head and swiftly pulled out the hair tie, his long dark hair pooling around his shoulder and covering the sides of his face. Naruto's eyes shot open, "S-S-Shikamaru-"

"You said I was handsome." It was a statement that sent heat straight to both boys' cheeks.

"Y-Yeah?" He didn't know what the other was getting at.

"With my hair down?" Shikamaru questioned, looking flustered and uncomfortable.

Naruto nodded slowly, "What does-"

Cutting him off, the black-haired boy turned to look at the medic-in-training, hair swooshing around him, "What about when my hair is up?"

The blond-haired gennin flushed, staring into Shikamaru's dark eyes, "Of course."

" _I'm being honest; it makes you look handsome."_

Shikamaru suddenly gave the other a small smile, a look of relief flooding through him. His hair has always been his biggest insecurity. "Naruto, I need to tell you something... it's important." He whispered out.

The medic-in-training scooted closer, having almost missed what the other was saying, "Yeah?"

"A while ago, I started to d-develop these um..." His heart was racing, pounding furiously in his chest, "I have these... t-these... uh..." Shikamaru could have cried at that moment. The thing he's been wanting to tell Naruto for nearly a month or two is right there but fear is gripping his shoulders and it won't let go. He glanced up at the blond-haired boy who looked completely flushed and curious. Shikamaru stopped, his breath nearly taken away. Fear started to let go of his confidence. He stared into those lovely blue eyes, "I have f-f-feelings... for y-you..."

"You... d-do?" Pink started to turn red, either from being embarrassed by the situation or completely flustered from it; Shikamaru couldn't tell.

He felt as if he would explode, "Y-Yeah, for a while now... I just w-want to ask if... if you would um... be my... b-b-boyfriend?"

Naruto cupped the side of his face into his hand, blush deepening, "You haven't even asked me on a d-date yet."

Shikamaru's eyes widened, lips twitching into a smile, "R-Really?!"

"W-Well, yeah." He looked away, not being able to fight to smile off his face, "How about t-this Saturday?"

"Y-Yeah! I'll I.... um, I'll pick you up at... e-eight?" He suddenly felt very insecure about this.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, "I'll see you at eight."

* * *

To her surprise, Kakashi was on the training grounds first. He was sitting in a tree reading his perverted book. Sakura shook her head, no longer disturbed by the book and its content along with who was reading it. She walked over, noticing Sasuke next who was eating one of the bentos that Naruto likes to prepare for them a few days before training or a mission for something quick to eat. "Good morning!" She chirped.

"Yo!" Kakashi waved, a signature eye-smile on his face.

"Hn." Sasuke looked up at her, eyebrows furrowing together, "Is Naruto not with you?"

"He's not here yet?" Sakura questioned, tilting her head and looking around the area, "Isn't he usually here before any of us?"

The Uchiha thought for a second before turning to look at their teacher, "You don't think he's sick or hurt right?"

"I'm sure that Naruto would be fine if he was sick or hurt," Kakashi stated absentmindedly.

"What if he was kidnapped?" Sakura suddenly whispered out, the thought making her shiver.

"Maybe he's just running a little late?" The silver-haired Jonnin suggested.

Sasuke shook his head, "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto's not like you in the sense of punctuality. He  _hates_ being late to anything."

"Maybe he had to stop by to speak to the weapon's shop guy – what's his name?" Kakashi thought for a second before shrugging it off, "He could also be with Lord Third right now or with Team 3."

"Lord Third is always busy in the mornings and he has a meeting today. Plus, Naruto only meets with Team 3 on Sundays since he and Team 3 are busy other days." Sakura stated factually.

Their teacher heaved a sigh, "If he doesn't appear within the next thirty minutes, we'll go look for him."

Sasuke shook his head, pointing at the trees, "Don't have too. You're right, he was probably late."

"S-Sorry!" Naruto called out, hopping out from behind a tree, "I stayed up too late last night and slept in too much." The other members of Team 7 blinked in surprise. The medic-in-training stared at them, stopping in his tracks, "W-What? Is there something on my face?"

Sakura grinned, pointing at him in excitement, "You're blushing!"

"What? No! N-No I'm not." He mumbled out quickly, averting his eyes.

The pink-haired gennin gasped, "No way! Who asked who out? Did he ask you or did you ask him? Are you going on a date? Come  _on,_ Naruto! Give me the details."

Naruto's blush deepened, "We're going on a date this Saturday. He's picking me up at eight."

Sakura squealed with excitement, rushing over to him and hugging him, "What are you going to wear? Are you going casual or fancy? This is so exciting."

"You're gay?" Sasuke suddenly questioned, standing up from his spot. The question caught the other members of Team 7's attention.

"Not gay, but bisexual." He admitted.

The Uchiha was silent for a second before smiling slightly, "Congratulations on the date."

Kakashi hopped down from the tree he was perched on, joining his gennin in the middle of the training grounds, "So, Naruto, who's the lucky guy?"

"Man, I was about to ask that!" Sakura huffed, frustration turning into excitement almost instantaneously, "Come on, Naruto, tell us!"

"It's um..." He flushed red, "It's Shikamaru."

"I knew it!" The only female on Team 7 cheered, pumping her fist in the air, "I've been rooting for you two to get together since we were eleven."

"R-Really?" Naruto blinked in astonishment.

"That... really isn't much of a surprise." Sasuke admitted, scratching his chin, "You two have always been close, but I thought that someone like Kiba would be more your type or even that Lee guy we met a while ago."

The medic-in-training shook his head, "No, we are just friends and Lee is technically my patient; it's against hospital policy for doctors or medics to date their patients."

Kakashi laughed, giving his team an eye-smile, "This is amazing news, Naruto, I hope the date goes well."

"T-Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smiled.

"Oh gosh, you've just got to give me the details like how did Shikamaru ask you? Did you  _kiss_? Are you dating now or just going on this date? Are you going to-" Sakura started to ramble on and on about the details between Naruto and Shikamaru, not that the team minds.

Naruto smiled at his teammates,  _"I couldn't have had a better team."_


	16. A Needed Pick-Me-Up

Shikamaru laid in his bed, arms and legs spread wide out. Eyes were nervously staring at his white ceiling, adrenaline and anxiety building in his soul. There was a prominent blush on his face, one that couldn't be removed. He made a noise of disdain and rolled over on his side, staring at the bedside clock on his nightstand. It was five o'clock in the afternoon, three hours until his date with Naruto. Three hours until his fantasies come to life before his very own eyes. Shikamaru groaned again and turned to his pillows, blushing face buried in them.

He should get up, take a shower and fix his hair. Would Naruto care if it was up? He didn't really want it down in front of so many people if they were to be out in town. But Naruto said that he should wear it down more often. Would he be disappointed if Shikamaru showed up with his hair up? The teenager sighed, digging his hands into his eye sockets.

He took a short breather, calming himself. Shikamaru let his hands fall to his pillows and aimlessly stared at the ceiling. Maybe he should put on that cologne that his dad owns, the one that his mom likes a lot. Does Naruto even like cologne? Is he revolted by it? Does he have asthma? Would he even notice something like that? The Nara heir sighed heavily, grumbling incoherent words into his pillowcase of frustrations and stress.

Shikamaru knew that he was overthinking this whole date, trying to imagine everything that could possibly happen. Would they hold hands or would Naruto want to wait a little while to get into all the couple-like stuff? What about their first kiss? Would that happen on their first date? Probably not since they are both very shy and kind of private guys.  _"Are we even dating? Naruto didn't say yes but he also didn't say no… he just wanted a date first."_ He thought to himself,  _"What if I flunk this date up and he doesn't want to go out? What if I mess this and Naruto doesn't want to be friends anymore? What if he is expecting things from me?"_

The door clicked open before he could  _really_  start to panic. Shikaku looked at him once before giving and exasperated sigh, "You're still sitting here? You've got a date in a little bit and you're not even ready?" His father rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a sort of disapproving way. It made Shikamaru uncomfortable.

He was about to respond with a snarky comment about the whole thing but froze for a second or two. The teenager turned his head towards his father in a questioning way, "Wait, how do you know about my date?"

"Oh, that's an easy one." The Nara blinked, stepping into his son's room fully, "Kakashi told me."

"He did? How did  _he_  know about it?" The gennin questioned, heart pounding slightly. Had Naruto already told his whole team about the two of them? Were they even a  _thing_? Shikamaru hadn't even mentioned it to his teammates and honestly didn't want to have that conversation with them.

Shikaku chuckled, "Well, apparently, Naruto was so excited about the date that he just couldn't stop talking about it with Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi."

He was right, Naruto had told his team. The Nara suddenly felt shitty for keeping this important milestone in his life from his best friends. Shikamaru lifted himself from his bed, cheeks turning pink, "R-Really?"

"Well, yeah." The older man stated, leaning against the wall, "Is that a problem?"

The boy shook his head, anxiously looking in between his hands and his father, a smile starting to bud on his face, "Did he say anything about it?"

"Who?"

"Naruto." Shikamaru said, almost exasperated, "What did he say?"

"Oh, hm…" Shikaku thought for a second, "Kakashi told me that the kid was red in the face the entire time he was talking, grinning from ear-to-ear and just looked  _exuberant_."

"Yeah, but did he say anything about it… about me? O-Or the date?" He nearly begged for the information to settle his stressed heart.

His father chuckled, "I guess you'll just have to ask him yourself. You're seeing him this afternoon anyway, ask him then."

"Dad!" He whined.

"Come on, you've got to get ready for your date. Also, your mother would like to talk to you." Shikaku smirked at the sudden fear and panic settling on his son's face at the mention of his mother.

The two left Shikamaru's room, heading for the kitchen where Yoshino was busy making dinner. Shikaku gave his son a pat on the back before leaving the two alone. The Nara heir took a deep breath, "Mom? You called?"

The woman spun her head around and had that look of a lecture about to come. "Shikamaru, you have a date tonight and you didn't even tell me about it in advance?!" She called out.

He blinked, "W-What?"

"I could have gotten you things like flowers to bring to that nice young man that works at the hospital or chocolates – I bet he loves chocolate! – or maybe… what does he even  _like_? Knives? He's a medic, right?" Yoshino rambled, stirring a pan of assorted vegetables.

"Mom, it's not Valentine's day, there's no need for flowers and chocolates... or  _knives_." Shikamaru turned pink, crossing his hands over his chest, grumbling the next part, "And he's not a medic yet, he's still in training."

She turned her head again and gave him another look before flipping some strips of meat in a different pan. The older woman palmed her forehead, as if a headache was brewing, "Oh Kami, help my son have more common sense."

"What?" He was  _beyond_ confused at this point.

"Even though you are one of the smartest boys in this  _entire_ village, you are being  _very_ stupid about this date, Shikamaru." Yoshino stated, rolling her eyes, adding some seasonings to the vegetables, "Even if it's not Valentine's day, some people still like the gesture of getting flowers or chocolates or certain gifts. That boy you're fawning over just might be one of those people but you're too absorbed in what you already know to continue learning about this boy." She gave an exasperated huff, turning her head to look at him properly. "Had you come to me  _earlier_  in the week, I would've helped you with your little date." She shook her head, exasperated, "You didn't even trust me enough to tell me about sexuality."

The room was silent for a few seconds before the younger Nara shuffled.

"How'd you know I was g-gay… sort of?" Shikamaru questioned, feeling slightly guilty about keeping the information from his mom. He hadn't meant to, he just wasn't sure what she'd think since his mom was always going on about kids and big weddings.

"Baby, I've known you were gay since you were about four." Yoshino responded quickly, getting a blush out of her son from certain embarrassment, "Now, do you even know what you're going to  _wear_  for the date."

The black-haired gennin looked down at his clothes and shrugged half-heartedly, "This?"

"Oh Kami, you're just like your father." She shook her head, patting her hands against a rag, "SHIKAKU, CAN YOU STIR THE VEGETABLES FOR A LITTLE BIT?!"

"WHAT?!" His father screamed from the other side of the house.

"STIR! THE!  _VEGETABLES_!" Yoshino called back, huffing once more, "Men…" Her son blinked a few times before she started ushering him back to his room, "Now, what color does this boy like?"

"Orange." He responded quickly, sitting on his bed.

"Ah, orange isn't really a good color on you… Hm…" His mother hummed, searching through Shikamaru's closet and drawers simultaneously, "Does he have a  _second_  favorite color?"

Shikamaru thought for a second, "I think it's blue."

"Another color that doesn't suit you!" The older woman groaned, flipping aggressively through her son's wardrobe, "Kami, do you own anything that's not green, black, white, or gray?"

"Those are just the colors I like." He crossed his arms.

"Fine, have it your way." She mumbled underneath her breath, "Where are you even going for your date?"

Shikamaru froze, "U-Um…"

Yoshino turned towards him, "You've had  _three_  days to think this out and you  _still_ haven't thought of somewhere to go?!"

"I thought we'd just go eat at a restaurant or something…" He mumbled, "It's not that big of a deal where we go."

"Not a big deal?! You are  _exactly_ like your father!" There was a furrow in her brows as she combed through the shirts and pants in the drawers once more, mumbling to herself before turning back to him, "Restaurants are so  _cliché_  nowadays. It probably would've been fine in my time but you and this boy go to restaurants a lot and that was when you two were  _just friends_. I feel like you should try something new."

"Like what? There isn't a lot in Konoha." Shikamaru stated exasperatedly.

"You just don't know where to look." Yoshino thought for a second before snapping her fingers, "There was a place that just opened up for kids about your age about three months ago. I believe it's a skating rink. That would be fun."

"A…  _skating_  rink?" He raised his eyebrows in question, "That sounds too troublesome. What if I fall? That would ruin the date."

"If you fall then have a laugh about it and get back up. Stop being so lazy!" She crossed her arms, "You are almost fourteen-years-old and you're about to go on your first date with someone you  _really_ like. Grow up and stop overthinking things. It's going to be alright."

"But what if I ruin it and say something stupid?" Shikamaru thought aloud, feeling absolutely defeated.

Yoshino sighed and walked over to her son, sitting beside him. She wrapped an arm around him. He leaned into her touch. "Baby, you have one of the highest IQ's in the entirety of Konoha but you're still a kid. You're going to mess up and that's okay." Shikamaru nodded at his mother's words, "From what you've told me, I doubt this boy would drop you because you said something stupid. Believe me when I say this, you say stupid stuff all the time and I still care about you."

"Yeah, but you're my mom." He rolled his eyes, still appreciating her words.

She chuckled, squishing him into her side, "Yeah, but that makes it matter more. Now, hurry up and change. You've got a date." Yoshino kissed his forehead before leaving the room. Shikamaru looked beside him at the outfit his mom picked. He gulped, staring at if for a few seconds before getting off his bed to change.

There were, after all, only two more hours until his date.

* * *

"Ah! What am I going to wear?!" Naruto stressed, bouncing around his small apartment. He glanced at the clock, "Oh Kami, he's going to be here in two hours and I'm not even ready!" Running back to his room, he tried to tear off his T-shirt in a hurry. It got caught at his ears, making him stubble around the messy room. Successfully getting the shirt off, he turned to head back to his closet, accidentally banging his hip on his desk. "Shit!" Naruto tried not to curse most times but he was beginning to feel anxious about the date, "I knew I shouldn't have worked today!"

He stopped for a second, hand hanging over a shirt he thought about wearing.  _"I need to calm down."_ Naruto thought to himself, taking a deep breath,  _"Freaking out will only make me slower. I have to think rationally."_ His mind leveled out for a few seconds, the anxiousness starting to slowly seep out of him as he meditated his mind. Naruto thought of beautiful and calming things like rain on a steel roof or a butterfly on a spring, maybe the dew of morning or a deer in the woods.

There was a series of footsteps outside his apartment door, making the blond-haired teenager freeze, calming thoughts crashing down immediately at the sound.  _"Please don't be early."_ He mentally begged, eyes as wide as saucers,  _"Please don't be Shikamaru."_ His heart was starting to thump loudly in his chest, a single knock hammering against the wood door. Naruto bit his lip, stress starting to waft off him in waves.

"Oh, whoops, wrong door." The unsuspecting person in the hallway whispered, the words coherent to the teenager. Creaks followed the stranger down the hallway where another knock and the click of a door filled his ears.

Naruto sighed, sliding against the wall, hand on his pounding heart. He could throw up with the amount of anxious tension in his body, slowly starting to build up. He's never dated anyone, let alone go on a date with someone. It was something new and the medic-in-training didn't want to mess things up. Naruto closed his eyes and grumbled about his stress in a defeated tone. There was just something terrifying about the whole  _dating_ thing.

He dug a hand into his hair, the soft blond locks unwelcoming to him. Naruto bit his lip,  _"I'm so freaked out right now."_ There was no way to calm his poor heart. Hopefully, he wouldn't mess up the entire date by being shy, stressed, and/or anxious; that would  _suck_. Would Shikamaru make fun of him for it? The teenager could have punched himself; of course, Shikamaru wouldn't make fun of him, they are best friends and… boyfriends? Naruto buried his head in his hands at the thought, face bright red. Are they… together?

There was another knock at his door.

The blond-haired teenager shot up from his seat, staring at the door once more. Hopefully, it was just another person picking the wrong door to knock at. There was another knock, this time louder.  _"Oh Kami, what if that's him?!"_ He anxiously thought hands scrunched up by his mouth, breathing heavily,  _"Is he early? I'm not even ready!"_ The boy tried to slow his breathing and pounding heart but there was yet another knock at the door. Swallowing a scream of anxiety, he headed for the door and swung it open. "Kakashi-sensei?" He blinked before exhaling a relieved breath, "I thought it was Shikamaru for a second."

"Trying to find something to wear, I'm guessing?" The older man gave him an eye-smile, waving to his shirtless form.

The boy looked down flushing pink for a second or two before allowing his teacher in, "Yeah, I… I have no idea what I'm going to wear. It's kind of freaking me out. Do I wear something fancy or casual? Ah, I don't even own anything fancy!"

Two hands plopped down on his shoulders, mounting him to the ground. He glanced up, Kakashi chuckling down at him. "Calm down, alright? I ran into Sakura this morning and she wanted to apologize to you since she was going to help you get ready for your date. Sadly, she has some chores and family things to deal with today." He stated, "She wanted – well, practically  _begged_ me, if I had to be honest – to come help you instead." Kakashi looks his student up and down, "From the looks of it, Sakura was right, you're in desperate need of help right now."

The medic-in-training nodded his head, taking a short breath, "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei, for doing this. I think that if you hadn't come when you did, I might have had a panic attack or freaked out to death."

"I could tell, your apartment is a complete and utter  _mess_." The silver-haired Jonnin peered around the room, "It's usually so tidy."

"Ah, right, sorry about it. I should probably clean up a little bit before I go." Naruto seemed to have calmed down enough, staring around the room for a second or two.

"I'll help you with that later. Until then," Kakashi smiled at this, "let's start talking about what you're going to wear to this date of yours."

_ **Time Skip…** _

Naruto stared at himself in the mirror, gulping slightly. Never in his life did he think he'd ever look like this. The boy had always thought that the only things he'd end up wearing in his lifetime would be lab coats, black t-shirts, orange or blue clothing, maybe a vest or two once he became a Chunnin and Jonnin, and shinobi sandals. He thought that his hair would always stick up in random places, never to be touched by a fresh style or cut. The Naruto he saw in the mirror was not what he was expecting.

His new hair style was made complete by chance on Kakashi's part. The older man had pulled Naruto's bangs back with a black headband that he found lying around the boy's apartment – both were pretty sure that it was Sakura's – which exposed his student's tan forehead. Kakashi had originally wanted to use some gel to give some control over his student's hair but ended up dropping the idea upon gazing upon the new hair style he'd accidentally created in a matter of seconds. Naruto found that there was something weird, something unspoken and strange about seeing his forehead after having had it been covered for so long by his bangs.

In all honesty, he felt like Sakura who had her forehead exposed all the time. The only difference being that his teammate had bangs to cover and frame the sides of her face. Her style looked perfect for someone like her but would this fresh look fit Naruto? Would Shikamaru care for the new hairstyle? Would he make fun of Naruto because of it? Although the blond-haired gennin wasn't anxious about the way he looked, he  _is_ anxious about being looked down by people he cares about.

A hand plopped down on his head, ruffling his recent look a little bit, making it look natural. Naruto turned to stare at Kakashi with wide eyes. His teacher smiled down at him, "If you don't like it, you can tell me and we can find something else for you."

Naruto nodded, looking back to the mirror, staring into his own eyes. He took a deep breath and gazed at his outfit that Kakashi had pulled from the backs of his closet. He wore plain dark blue knee-length shorts, paired with a simple white t-shirt with a black design on the front. To tie the outfit together, Kakashi pulled out a jacket that Iruka had gotten him some time ago but had been forgotten due to Naruto's interest in medical ninjutsu. There were different patches stuck to the shoulder like the red swirl common on most ninja acquired things. The jacket was white and very fluffy on the inside, colored orange on the outside.  **(A/N – This is not the same jacket as the one depicted in canon).**

To Kakashi, his outfit screamed just who Naruto was.

"Are you sure about…  _this_?" Naruto whispered out anxiously, bringing his arm up to his head to stare at the patches on his jacket's sleeve.

His teacher turned him around to stare into his eyes, "Hey, look, if you don't want to wear this or trying something new, that is up to you. I am  _not_ going to force you out of your comfort zone. Even if I think this looks good, it is not my choice whether you wear this or not."

The blond-haired boy nodded, covering his face with his hands, "I'm sorry about being so much trouble. I j-just… this is  _Shikamaru_ … he's the first guy I've ever l-liked and I don't want to mess this up."

"It's okay to feel that way." The older man chuckled slightly at the end, "Do you want me to tell you about my first date I ever had?" Naruto removed his hands from his face and slowly nodded. "I was nineteen when I had my first date and it was probably the worst one I've ever been on." His student smiled at that, "After I left ANBU, some of my Jonnin friends set me up on a blind date. No one knew that I'd never been on a date with someone before and I let my pride get to me back then."

"What's a blind date?" The boy interrupted.

"It's basically when you and another person, who you've never met before, meet up at a place and have a date." Kakashi stated, "I had a terrible first experience with a blind date. Her name was Yuma… or was it Saki, damn, it's been a long time." The two laughed at that, the older of the two mentally cheering at having calmed down Naruto a little bit. "That Yuma-Saki-woman was this thirty-some-year-old woman with  _kids_  and  _grandkids_. It's all she would talk about. Oh, and she  _so_ wanted to get in my pants." The silver-haired Jonnin shook his head before placing his hands on his student's shoulders, "I doubt that Shikamaru could ever drop you because of how you  _look_. If anything, it would be quite the shocker to see you like that."

Naruto beamed, "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei, that… that means a lot."

"You're my student. I'd do anything for you, even help you on your first date." Kakashi smiled back,  _"I always will."_


	17. First For Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be bolded numbers in parenthesis in this chapters. This is because these numbers will signify a certain meaning behind me doing this. They will be written at the end. Let me know if you'd like to see me do this in every chapter so you're not confused as to why I wrote something in or not.

 

Naruto stared at himself in the mirror just one last time as a mental check as to whether he should really go out looking like this.  _"If you don't like it, you can tell me and we can find something else for you."_ He sighed at Kakashi's words echoing in his brain. Even if the man wasn't here, he was still helping the anxious teenager out. Though, his teacher  _was_  right; if he didn't feel comfortable wearing this out and about, he didn't have to put himself through that. He could very well change this outfit to something he's used to, something he was happy with.

The patches on the jacket gleamed at him, sitting on his chest, shoulders, and back. He turned slightly to get a good look at the black and white patch on his back. Iruka had said that he had gotten an old friend to stitch the large embroidery on there, the kanjis for medic being a symbol of such. Naruto remembered having tears in his eyes upon receiving the gift from his former teacher, a large smile on his face. The blond-haired teenager turned back to face the mirror once more. A finger traced the red swirls on his left shoulder, watching it intently. It trailed down to the patch on the front, a simple patch with his last name on it, the white lettering standing out against the orange. "This is… new." He mumbled to himself, shutting his eyes and taking a calming breath, "I'm not sure about this."  **(1)**

 _"It's okay to feel that way."_ Kakashi cooed in his mind, repeating his encouraging words several times.

Naruto nodded to himself, thinking back to the date. Shikamaru could be here any minute now, an excited and anxious buzz milling around inside of him at the thought. They'd be off on their date soon and there would be no time to change his outfit then; he needed to decide if he was ready or not. "Gah!" He grumbled suddenly, throwing his hands in the air, "I've never cared how I looked before, why am I suddenly…" The teenager stopped and quieted down because he knew exactly why.

Shikamaru.

It wasn't that he wanted to change for him; they'd been friends for years, the Nara heir knows a hell-of-a-lot of things about him, more than Naruto would like to admit. However, that was when they were  _just friends_ , but now… now they are  _more_ than  _just friends_. Are they something... boyfriends? Naruto still wasn't entirely sure; this was too much at once. He's doubting himself, his abilities as a person… a significant other for someone he really cares about.

The medic-in-training shut his eyes slightly, a hand creeping its way up to his hair, lightly brushing against it. It was soft and comforting, reminding him that he doesn't have to have it pushed back by this headband, leaving his forehead exposed. He didn't have to change his look or wear something new. He didn't  _have_ to.

But he wanted to.

Naruto opened his eyes and just stared for a second. "You can do it." He breathed out in a whisper, letting a small smile grace his features, "It's okay to wear something new." He tugged on the jacket, tan hands brushing against the fluffy inside, beaming into the mirror. The teenager posed, the reflection absorbing his image as he changed the pose. "It's okay to look good for someone you like!" The pep talk was starting to work, starting to make him excited to show off this fresh look, fixing the headband into a more comfortable position, "I can do it!"

There was a knock on his door, a tentative and shy-sounding knock.

Naruto flushed pink and nodded to himself.  _"You look good, you feel good; you can do this!"_ He mentally cheered, leaving the mirror and heading for the door. There was a certain about of anxiety building in his stomach, but his mirror pep talk helped to ease it back some more. The medic-in-training opened the door, seeing Shikamaru standing there with a single yellow rose with red tinted tips **(2)**  held out in front of him. His cheeks were red, eyes lowered to the ground.

"Is this for me?" Naruto questioned, a small smile on his face.

Shikamaru nodded quickly, "Y-Yeah, I thought you might um… like it?"

His face softened, plucking the rose out the other's hand, "It wonderful, Shikamaru; I love it."

"Y-You do?" The Nara's face darkened in color.  _"My mom was right."_ He admitted to himself. He made a mental reminder to start getting the medic-in-training flowers more often… if they are together by the end of this date.

"I'll be back. I'm going to go put this in a vase." Naruto gave him a parting smile before disappearing into the house for a few seconds. He returned later, stuffing a wallet into his back pocket and locking the door behind him. It was as the Jinchuriki was standing in front of him that Shikamaru finally noticed.

"Wow." He breathed, completely in awe, staring wide-eyed at the attire. The Nara heir took his time looking Naruto up and down, curious and interested in the change of attire and hair. "You look amazing," Shikamaru admitted, moving his eyes back to the other's face, staring at the sky that blinked back at him.

Naruto flushed red, "Y-Yeah?"

"Yeah." He nodded dumbly, in complete awe, "It suits you, really."

"Thanks." The medic-in-training beamed, anxieties slowly starting to drift away, "You look n-nice as well. Green looks g-good on you."

Shikamaru stared down at his attire. It was a dull green colored button up with the sleeved rolled up to just above his elbow. He wore black shorts with pockets all over them along with some simple shinobi sandals. "This? It's um… nothing, really." The Nara heir admitted, shrugging slightly.

"I wouldn't say so." Naruto gave him a smile, "It makes you look handsome." Red flared up on his cheeks, the words a reminder of where the teenager had told Shikamaru that he'd be the one to call him handsome. "So, um… are we ready to go?" The medic-in-training questioned, excitement bubbling up inside of him.

"Uh, y-yeah." Shikamaru hummed slightly, still reeling back from the compliment. The two walked out of Naruto's apartment building quietly, too shy to speak up first but not wanting to make it awkward. They would occasionally glance at each other with an awed look before quickly staring at the ground. Though, it was starting to slowly become suffocating.

"So…" Naruto began, hands accidentally brushing against one another, earning a deep blush from the two of them, "Where are we heading?"

Shikamaru blinked, having almost forgotten that the other teenager had no idea where they were going on their date. "The skating rink." He responded after a second or two.

Recognition and eagerness shone in his eyes, "Really?!"

The sudden enthusiasm startled the black-haired gennin, "Um, yeah, do you know of it?"

Naruto bobbed his head, getting a bounce in his step, "Sakura was talking about how much fun she had with her parents there the other week. It was all she talked about during training that day."

"But you've never been there before?" Shikamaru questioned, hoping to not make a fool of himself.

"Nope!" He grinned, "I'm probably going to fall a bunch; I've never skated before."

"Well, then I guess that makes two of us." He chuckled slightly. A comfortable silence fell over them for a little while as they walked down the street, people still busying around after eight o'clock in the evening. Their hands brushed against each other again but this time they stayed close together.

Naruto glanced down at them, grinning to himself, "Thank you for the rose, Shikamaru. I really appreciated it."

"I'm glad you like it." The Nara heir smiled as well, "I wish I'd gotten a bouquet, though. Those seem to smell better."

"It's not about the quantity." He shook his head lightly, slipping his hand into Shikamaru's, "It's about the meaning behind it."

"I…" The gennin froze, staring down at their clasped hands, pink tinting his cheeks. He peered back into Naruto's sky-blue eyes and the warm smile.

"I didn't think you'd g-get me something which is why it m-meant so much to me that you got me a r-rose." Naruto flushed, looking away, "So… thank you."

Shikamaru smiled at his words, "You're welcome."

The two continued their walk towards the skating rink, hand-in-hand. Though it was quiet, there was a warmth between them that settled in their cheeks and in their hearts. Despite neither knowing what to say, the previous conversation still buzzed around in their minds with a certain charm to it. They communicated by clasping their hand tighter against the other, glancing into each other's eyes for reassurance. They would accidentally rub their wrists together, walking shoulder to shoulder, barely any room between them now. A thumb running over the other's knuckles and a twitch of a smile on their faces'  **(3)**.

This is what they've both wanted, what they might've needed.

"Ah, we're here." Naruto suddenly mumbled out, eyes glancing between their hands and the large sign above them. The Nara heir, misinterpreting the stare, slipped his hand out of the teenager's, flushing red. The medic-in-training gave his empty hand a disappointed look, not really sure why. He turned to stare at his date who was starting to zone out, "H-Hey."

"Huh?"

"You alright?" Naruto questioned worriedly, internally hoping that he hadn't done anything to ruin the moment.

"Ah, yeah, I'm just a little n-nervous, you know?" Shikamaru admitted.

He smiled, glancing at the ground with shy eyes, "Definitely. This is my first d-date."

"S-Same." The teenager breathed out. They made eye-contact, hard black gazing into a soft blue. There was another moment of communication, of making sure that this is what they both wanted. Their young hearts knew, of course, but their minds struggled to catch up to the burning passion the two held for each other. "Do you… want to go in?" Shikamaru asked, hand stretching out in front of him, a blush on his cheeks.

"I'd love to." Naruto beamed, reaching out to clasp the awaiting hand with eagerness.

The two waltzed in, one with an anxious heart while the other held a love-struck one. The Nara heir kept glancing around with a vigor that Naruto was sure he'd eventually give himself a headache from straining his eyes. However, he kept the comment to himself. If Shikamaru got a headache, the medic-in-training had some ibuprofen in a pouch in one of his pockets… just in case. The couple –  _are we even that_? Naruto wondered – stood in front of a lanky woman. She gave them one look before smiling, "Ah, good evening. Entry for two?"

"Yes." Shikamaru responded, cheeks feeling on fire, releasing his hand to dig out his wallet, "How much will that be?"

"One-fifty-five ryō.  **(4)** " The woman stated as the black-haired teenager dug into his wallet, handing it to her after collecting it, "May I see your hands?" The two gave each other a look before holding out their hands. The lanky woman grabbed Shikamaru's first, stamping a neon-colored thumbs-up on the top of his hand before doing the same with Naruto's. Noticing their looks of confusion, she chuckled, "It's the tell the workers inside whether you paid or not. It glows in the dark too."

"Woah." Naruto mumbled with a smile, holding it to his eye, covering it with his hand, "Shikamaru, look! It really does glow in the dark."

"Huh?" Now curious, the Nara heir had to try it out for himself. Sure enough, there was a neon green thumbs-up shining up at him. "That's pretty cool." He admitted.

The lady laughed, shaking her head slightly, "You kids have fun and try not to get into any trouble while you're out on the floor."

The blond-haired teenager bowed his head slightly, "Yes, ma'am."

She watched the two walk through the doors to the skating rink and just smiled, "Ah, young love. I miss those days."

The two gennin stood at the entrance with large eyes, the sound of skates hitting polished wood filtering in and out of their ears. Laughter and constant bickering filled the domed rink. There was a carpeted barrier between the skating rink and the walk way, both covered with kids about their age or older than them. There weren't many adults around beside the workers spotting the area here and there. Music blared out from the speakers above them, words unrecognizable by the chattering teens inside.

A startled shriek came from the right, making the two instantly look at someone who'd fallen on their butt. Their face melted from shock to pure laughter, cheeks burning red with cheer happiness. One of their friends – assuming they knew each other; this new person could very well be just someone who was kind-hearted – helped them up off the floor before they skated away… only to fall down a few yards later. However, they just laughed and skated on.

Shikamaru let out a nervous chuckle, suddenly feeling like this was a bad plan. His heart was racing uncontrollably and he could feel sweat on the back of his neck. If he fell, could he really just laugh it off? Did he have the heart to or would he be too embarrassed? Would Naruto laugh at him? Would he laugh at Naruto if he fell? An elbow touched his ribs, startling him out of his anxious thoughts. He turned to stare at his date, previous thoughts freezing in his mind. The medic-in-training was smiling, the bright lights over the skating rink highlighting his facial features. He was talking about something but Shikamaru couldn't hear him, only see the pure happiness and beauty in those large sky-blue eyes. He could feel a smile tugging at his features the more he stared.

"You ready?" Naruto shouted slightly, trying to be heard over all the commotion, a gleam of excitement and anticipation in his eyes.

"Sort of." He admitted, shrugging slightly.

"Come on." He was starting to drag him towards a booth on the farthest wall, "It'll be fun!"

He looked at their clasped hands, feeling the heat in his cheeks once more, "If you s-say so…"

Naruto laughed, pulling him along to stand in front of a middle-aged man handing out skates. He smiled up at him, "Good evening."

The kindness caught the man off-guard for a second before returning the smile, "Hey there, kid. Need some skates?"

"Yes, sir." He bobbed his head excitedly.

"Alright, mind if I see your hand?" The man questioned, raising his furry eyebrows. The two held out their hands, the stamp gleaming up at the worker who merely nodded. "Now, what are your boys' shoe size?" He asked after confirming that they had paid. They answered quickly. The middle-aged man nodded, starting to head towards the back of the booth where dozens and dozens of skates sat on shelves, "You boys take your shoes off and we'll exchange."

"This is so cool." Naruto mumbled, a small smile tugging at his lips, "Don't you think?"

Shikamaru nodded, pulling off his left sandal, "It's certainly an experience."

He chuckled, both shoes pried off their feet, "Thanks for taking me here."

"You're w-welcome." He answered quickly, placing his shoes on the counter for the man to grab later.

Naruto followed suit and grinned at the other teenager, "I mean it. It's already been such an amazing experience and we aren't even skating yet."

Shikamaru's eyes widened before he looked away, turning pink, "Um… That's-"

"Here you are!" The man appeared, setting skates down in front of them, beaming down at them, "You kids have fun, alright?"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto politely responded, the two grabbing their skates before heading towards a bench to put them on.

Shikamaru stared at the skates, eyeing them curiously, "You know, these are just kind of shinobi sandals with wheels on them."

The blond beside him gasped in realization, "Woah, you're right! Do you think we could make these at home?"

"Probably." He stated, tugging the skates on.

"I wonder how much it might cost?" Naruto mumbled to himself, bouncing in excitement, "It'd be cool to skate around Konoha instead of having to walk about."

"Yeah, but what if one of your wheels like a rock or something? You'd go flying." Shikamaru pointed out.

The teenager laughed loudly, "Then I guess I'll have to start learning how to  _really_ use skates." After a few more seconds, the two had officially gotten their skates on and were staring at each other.

"You first." The black-haired gennin stated immediately.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Alright, but if I fall, you better attempt to catch me."

"I've got you." Shikamaru smiled, hands twitching with anticipation.

His cheeks redden slightly as he gripped the bench underneath him. He took a deep breath before pushing himself off the bench, gliding towards the solid barrier in front of him. "Woah." Naruto blinked, turning to look at his best friend, "This is so  _weird_."

"How so?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It feels like I'm floating." The medic-in-training admitted, pushing away from the barrier and standing in the middle of the walkway, knees quivering slightly, "Makes me feel taller too." He let out a laugh before turning to his date. "It's your turn now." He grinned, holding out his hand for assistance.

Shikamaru stared at it, glancing down at his skates. He took a deep breath, remembering his mother's words before grabbing Naruto's hand. The teenager tugged him out, the two slowly gliding back to the barrier between the walkway and rink. The Nara heir took several seconds to balance himself on the four wheels before staring into his date's eyes, reassurance and exhilaration gleaming in them. He nodded as the two skated to an entrance down the way. They stood there, staring at people passing them, looking as if they'd been doing this for years. "I'm kind of scared," Shikamaru whispered all the sudden.

"Yeah?" Naruto turned towards him, "Me too."

He took a deep breath, "I just don't want to fall down and make a fool of myself; it'd be too troublesome."

"I can sort of sympathize with that." The blond stated, looking back to the rink, "I'm sure we can figure this out… together."

Shikamaru smiled, bobbing his head, "Yeah… yeah, we can."

With that, they pushed off, staying near the barrier as to get used to being on wheels instead of their feet.

Already, Naruto could notice the quaking of his knees at the change, wobbling around as the wheels made him glide around the curve of the rink. "T-This is a little nerve-wracking." He said in a hushed whisper, "How a-are you holding up?"

He moved his legs from left-to-right, keeping the motion steady and slow before glancing at Naruto, "I'm… I'm getting there. Try moving your legs like this, makes it easier."

He stared down at Shikamaru's motion, trying to mimic them with success within a few seconds. Naruto gave a wavered chuckle, "Hah, this is… this is pretty fun!" He started to move a little faster, the wheels rolling around on the polished wood, squeaking with exuberance.

"H-Hold on, Naruto!" Shikamaru called out, still not used to the new pace, "I can't go that fast yet."

"Ah, right!" He gave him a sheepish smile, slowing down a little bit to skate beside him, "If you loosen up your knees, it makes it a little easier."

He tried to apply the words to his knees but they just shook and made his heart pound with fright, "I… I don't know, it's too troublesome… m-maybe I should just sit down and just-"

"Hey, hey, it's alright. You don't have to get it the first time." Naruto soothed, grabbing both of his hands as they drifted down the straight part of the rink. Other skaters glanced at them before going around them; the two didn't bother to register the looks. "We don't have to go fast, we can stay at this pace." He smiled, skating backward with the hope that he wouldn't run into anyone, "Just take your time. I won't leave you."

Shikamaru took a deep breath, the words reassuring his scared heart, "Thanks."

"Anytime." Naruto grinned, running his thumb over the other teenager's knuckles. He released one of the hands as to skate beside his date and not in front. They skated in silence for several rounds around the rink, still not noticing the looks from the other skaters. Some were whispering to each other, others pointed, some wondered about this and that, while other just stared whether it be in awe or in curiosity. Most had their gaze set on Naruto who looked strange while not in his ninja gear or hospital outfit.

"You're pretty popular here." Shikamaru pointed out, starting to get the hang of it.

"I guess so. I've seen about two or three patients I've treated before around here." Naruto stated,  _"Hopefully they'll notice that I'm with someone and they won't both us. It would ruin the mood."_ The black-haired teenager started to speed up, dragging the blond along with him, his legs no longer quaking and quivering like a leaf in the wind. The other grinned, "You're getting pretty good at this."

"Well, I might have called it quits had it not been for you." He acknowledged, smiling at the teenager.

Naruto chuckled, sliding beside him as they rounded another curve, having already gone about a dozen rounds around the rink, "Sakura was right about this place; it's so much fun!"

"I'd have to agree with you there." The Nara heir laughed, glancing at the other boy, "Where do you think we'd be able to buy some wheels to put on our sandals at home?"

He turned to answer the question but tripped over his own leg. Blue eyes widened in shock, letting go of Shikamaru's hand as he fell to the ground. Naruto slid about a foot or two away from the barrier, nearly getting hit by an on-coming skater. The black-haired gennin rushed to his side, worry in his eyes. He was about to ask if he was alright but Naruto just burst out laughing. The Jinchuriki was red in the face, tears brimming his narrowed eyes. He held his hands over his stomach and just laughed himself raw.

Shikamaru flushed pink and chuckled at him, "You have a cute laugh." The words were meant for a mental note, not in their spoken language. Naruto clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes opening to stare into his date's own black ones. "A-Ah, I didn't mean as a b-bad thing!" He reassured hand held out in front of him, "I just t-thought that um…"

The blond-haired boy grabbed the hand, Shikamaru pulling him up with a little effort. They released each other's grasp after they were steady. "It's f-fine, it just s-startled me." Naruto smiled slightly, rubbing his cheek sheepishly, the two drifting closer towards the barrier between the rink and the walkway; they didn't want to be in other skaters' way, "You said it w-without a s-stutter…"

"It's true." He whispered their close proximity allowing for the other to hear him clearly. They rolled around a curve sluggishly, Shikamaru's hand brushing against the carpeted barrier, feeling a little bit of anxiety in his heart.  _"Did I mess this up?"_ He looked at the blond seeing the flush of pink on his cheeks and couldn't help but smile at it,  _"I… I don't think so."_

Naruto saw his stare and returned it, a soft look in his eyes, nodding at his previous words. He stopped and stood in front of his date who's back leaned against the barrier slightly. "You want to continue skating?" Naruto held out his hand, an offer the other gennin could never refuse.

"Yeah, I'd love to." Shikamaru smiled, taking it as they continued to skate around the rink with a little more experience and a new sense of belonging.

It was nearing ten o'clock when the workers tried to herd everyone out of the rink to change their skates in for their shoes and leave with a blissful smile on their face. After Naruto's first fall, he tried his hardest to stay off the ground which had worked for a while until Shikamaru started to fall all over the place. The black-haired teenager had a strong grip and forgot that he and Naruto were holding hands, tugging him down along with him. It would create some awkward and hilarious moments but they laughed it off with a blush on their faces.

They talked about their teammates and teachers, reciting some of their previous D-ranked missions. They messed around, swinging each other around the rink, the wheels on their skates enhancing the movements with a vigor that made the two bust out with nervous laughter. Near the end of the night, a disco ball came from the ceiling and the lights shut off, a neon strobe light dancing with the glimmers from the disco ball. Music blared loudly, drowning out most of the noise and creating an exuberant atmosphere. Shikamaru and Naruto drifted closer to the middle of the rink, spinning each other around in circles until one of them fell to the ground. They laughed and held onto each other for dear life.

The couple didn't quit until they were nearly forced out of the skating rink with a laugh and a smile from the workers. They traded out their skates for their shoes, their plans for making their own ones at home on their tongues as they spoke with excitement that most definitely hadn't been there at the beginning of the night. They wobbled out of the building with quivering legs, joking about how they're going to have sore legs tomorrow. Naruto commented on how Shikamaru had training tomorrow while he had the next two days off to relax after their date.

However, the two were still having such a great time and neither wanted to go back home. They could have stayed in this moment for eternity if life would have let them, their worries and lives somewhere else in the world. With clasped hands and wide smiles, booming laughter from the two and an abundance of energy, they couldn't just  _leave_. There had to be something,  _anything_ to prevent them from leaving each other's side.

But nothing stuck.

They were in a loop of what to do, of what they  _could_ do. It was way past their (i.e. Shikamaru's) curfew so they couldn't really think of anything to do and the majority of shops were closing. They couldn't think of anything to do with this limited amount of time and they were running out of places to walk, the Nara estate coming into view.

So, instead, they talked.

They questioned each other about different parts of their lives. They talked about Shikamaru's family and Naruto's lack of family, of what they could have been had they still been alive. They laughed about their teams' antics and how they spend their free time after training. They thought back to some of their hangout times on roofs or hills or in restaurants, maybe even just aimlessly walking down the streets with nothing in sight. And throughout the entirety of the walk, they held hands like they'd never be able to hold on to each other again…

All the way back home…

Shikamaru turned to stare at Naruto, "You didn't have to walk me home."

"Well, I thought that since you picked me up, I might as well drop you off." He smiled.

"Thanks." He mumbled, running his thumb on the top of his date's hand.

"I um… I had a great time. It was a lot of fun." Naruto shut his eyes, a soft smile spreading across his face, "We should do this again sometime."

Shikamaru stared at with wide eyes, "R-Really?"

"Yeah, and I…" He took a deep breath, gazing up behind his eyelashes. The other boy waited anxiously, hands starting to shake slightly. Naruto leaned in close, noses barely touching, pink dusting his cheeks, "I would love to be your b-boyfriend… if you'll still have me."

He flushed red and smiled, "O-Of course!"

"Then… do you mind if I… um k-kiss you?" He whispered out.

"N-Not at all." Shikamaru breathed.

Naruto closed the gap, soft lips touching chapped ones. It was odd for the both of them, several firsts being done in one night; first date, first boyfriend, first  _kiss_. It was over too fast but would it ever be enough to satisfy the both of them. The blond-haired teenager grinned, "Thank you for the d-date. I hope to do it again."

"M-Me too." He smiled.

The two pulled apart, Naruto sheepishly rubbing his neck, "G-Good night."

"N-Night." Shikamaru mumbled out, awestruck. He watched the blond leave into the night, standing there dumbfounded. The gennin turned and headed for his room, face flushed and eyes still wide from the kiss. He walked in silence, mind drifting back to their date, the images and sounds still there. The Nara heir opened the door to his family's home and passed by the kitchen, barely noticing both of his parents standing there.

"Shikamaru." His father called, halting the boy from walking up the stairs to his bedroom.

He turned and headed back to the kitchen, blinking at them, "What are you guys doing up?"

His mother grinned, fiddling with her hands, "How was the date, baby? Did he like the flower you got him?"

Shikamaru flushed red, chuckling slightly, "Y-Yeah, he really liked it. He put it in a vase and e-everything."

"Oh, that's amazing!" She fanned herself, "Ah, Shikaku, our son's in love!"

"M-Mom!" He hid his face with his hands.

Shikaku chuckled, "And don't think we didn't hear about that  _scene_ in front of the entrance."

"W-What?"

"Yeah, Shikito is excellent at her job, informing the clan leader of any strange occurrences outside of the Nara estate as quickly as possible." He laughed at his son's reddening expression.

" _Dad!"_ Shikamaru whined, feeling his chest beating out of his chest.

"Oh, don't embarrass him too much." Yoshino slapped her husband's arm playfully before looking back to her son, "And – jokes aside – we really are so happy and proud of you that you've found someone you really care about."

He smiled to himself, Naruto's face appearing in his mind, "I… I really like him… a l-lot."

"I'm glad." She clapped her hands together, looking at the clan leader, "Now, when do you think the wedding will be?"

"W-Wedding?!" Shikamaru exclaimed, dragging a hand down his face as he left the kitchen. There was just a tiny smile on his face,  _"The things I'd do for you, Naruto."_

Unbeknownst to the public, a white-haired figure enters the village undetected and with a plan in mind.

* * *

 **1.**   _"This is… new… I'm not sure about this."_ The reason as to why Naruto isn't sure about changing his appearance all of the sudden was because he's used to gradual. From the beginning, Naruto didn't just get anything all the sudden, it happened gradually like his budding relationship, his new friendships with his teammates and sensei, his medical knowledge, his relationship with the village, etc. It didn't just change overnight. However, by changing how he looks, Naruto has a lot of internal anxieties about it. Plus Shikamaru, let's never forget about Shikamaru.

 **2.** "… _a single yellow rose with red tinted tips…"_ The reason I made Shikamaru give Naruto this certain type of rose was because it means 'friendship and falling in love' and I thought that it was perfect for their budding relationship. Tell me what you think about the rose idea or if I should have picked a different rose and why.

 **3.** The whole scene with the hands is kind of loosely (i.e. majorly) based off how my boyfriend and I hold hands and cuddle. There isn't a lot of talking but we somehow magically know exactly what the other is thinking. It's a little cliché but we've been together for nearly three years; there is no way we wouldn't be able to practically read the others' mind. So yeah… sorry if that scene is a little… um… yeah.

 **4.** _"One-fifty-five ryō"_ if converted to US dollars would be rounded up to fourteen dollars. Where I live in the US, for kids eleven to sixteen its usually seven dollars per person so it would be fourteen dollars for Naruto and Shikamaru. However, I had to convert it to the currency used in this fandom's universe. It was a pain, to be honest.

 

* * *

**:OMAKE:**

The two skated around the rink several times, talking aimlessly about everything and nothing. They held hands and tried their best not to fall down. As they rounded a curve, there was a guy standing there, waving them over. Naruto and Shikamaru glanced at each other, communicating through their eyes as to what they should do. With a shrug, they were standing before this guy in a trench coat.

"Hey, kids." The stranger grinned, "You want some blades?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "No."

"Blades are for skating." Naruto gave the man a look, leaning in close, "Ya dingus."

And with that, the two skated their hearts out on the rink… until the Nara heir slipped, pulling his date down with him.

"Kinda slippery." Shikamaru mumbled, the other teenager laughing at him.


	18. Medics in the Waves

"Whoa!" Naruto cried out, doing a backflip to get out of the way from a high kick, Lee bouncing back with a twirl of legs and arms, not once letting up on his pursuit. Guy watched from the side-lines, arms crossed over his chests with a serious look on his face. The older man was watching the fight as a precaution measure should the fourth gate overwhelm Lee during this practice run with it. So far, his student was moving around with ease – almost as if he'd been doing this for  _years_  – all with the help of those pills the medic-in-training had nearly perfected a few weeks ago.

"Do not falter now, Naruto-kun!" The exuberant teenager grinned, dashing forward at great speeds, landing a solid punch or two on the other. Naruto barely had any time to react as he a leg connected with his chest, sending him towards the trunk of a tree. It cracked under his body weight, tipping backwards as he fell to the ground.

" _So fast!"_ The blond-haired boy thought in amazement, a small smile on his face as he quickly rolled to the side as Lee appeared in front of him all the sudden. Still on the ground, Naruto shot out a leg illuminated in blue, slicing through the taijutsu specialist's jumpsuit, cutting his ankles as the older boy jumped away from the other's attack.

Guy clapped twice from the sidelines, a simple command to stop them from continuing a spar, "Alright, I think that's enough of a test run."

"Yes sir." Lee released his body's hold of the fourth gate, taking a few seconds to catch his breath. Sweat started to dribble down his forehead now that the tension had been released. The gennin with the bowl-cut looked down at the other, holding his hand out for Naruto to take, "Here."

He took one glance at it before smiling and grabbed it. He was hefted up with a strong grip, having to balance on his heels to keep from falling on to his face; even after that intense sparring session while being under the fourth gate's influence, Lee still had the strength and energy. The blond-haired teenager pats the older boy's back after he successful balanced himself on his knees, "You did great, Lee! I'm glad that the fourth gate is starting to feel comfortable for you now."

The bowl-cut-wearing teenager grinned, beaming down at the medic-in-training, "Thank you, Naruto-kun. Though, I couldn't have gotten it here had it not been for you!"

"Please, you did all the physical work." He commented, waving off the compliment, cheeks pink.

"Yes, but that balancer's pill you made really made the difference. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it." Lee bounced, shaking his fists exuberantly.

Naruto nodded as the two started walking over to Guy, "Well, the next step – once you've reached at least gate six – will be to slowly stop all usage of those pills so that your body can get used to balancing the unbalanced on its own. This is so you don't rely on those pills more than your actual abilities as a ninja."

Guy smiled down at the medic-in-training, "Thank you for the practice run, Naruto."

"It was no trouble at all." He grinned, "I will have to get going though. I have a meeting with my team today and then I have to stop by to see Dr. Terra this evening."

"I see." The older man nodded his head before beaming, sticking his thumbs in the air, "May the flames of youth always burn in you, Naruto!"

"Yosh!" Lee fist-pumped the air in excitement.

Naruto chuckled, warmth spreading into his cheeks, "I will try my best. Good luck with your training, Lee, and if you need me again, you know where you can find me!" He waved before heading for town.

Sundays had started to become his ' _youthful days_ ' since they are almost always spent with Team 3. On Sundays, he was constantly on muscle-watch – Tenten had started calling it that after Naruto had explained to the team about how opening the gates could tear muscles and ligaments so he had to keep an eye for any tearing – while also giving Lee instructions on what to do before, during, and after using his balancer's pill.

The name was coined by, surprisingly, Neji. After the third or fourth time Naruto had appeared at Team 3's training grounds with a new-and-improved pill, Neji spoke about 'the balancer's pill' and if it was dangerous or how it could potentially benefit someone who used the gates. Afterwards, though, the medic-in-training hadn't been able to call it anything else since the name just felt  _right_. Since then, the balancer's pill had been tweaked and remastered at least eight separate times to what could be described as perfection. Naruto tried his hardest to make it easier to make while also adding to more stability in the user's body; it seems as though it worked.

It should also be noted that Guy had also requested to use the balancer's pill. However, Naruto shot down the idea of using the yellow balancer's pill since he made it for someone Lee's age, not an adult. So, he worked day and night after the teacher showed interest in using the balancer's pill to create one for adults to use. Even if it nearly took a week and a half to create it, he succeeded after three times, the green balancer's pill being proof of that. The medic-in-training isn't completely sure whether it works or not since Guy refuses to use the gates in front of them; the thought of possible side effects when using that pill without a medic present scares Naruto. However, the older man hadn't been admitted to the hospital yet so he guesses that Guy's been doing fine with it.

Plus, if anything were to go wrong, Naruto was ninety percent sure that Guy would tell him about it… right?

The thought is pushed aside, mind still drifting to the memories between him and Team 3. The benefits Lee and Guy have been getting aren't all completely one-sided; Naruto's been getting taijutsu training. The other gennin felt bad for taking up the medic-in-training's time on his only day off and insisted in teaching him a few things that anyone who uses taijutsu – almost every ninja in the world, mind you – should know. From this came a mutualistic training session; Naruto covers Lee to make sure he's fine while using the balancer's pill and sparring occasionally while Lee helped Naruto develop a specialized taijutsu style that allows him to be oppressive or defensive when need be which helps since medics are  _supposed_ to be on the frontlines. Neji had also helped with the defensive part of the blond-haired teenager's taijutsu style, helping him to adjust certain parts to create a 360-protective area surrounding him. He was also showing Naruto the different pressure points in the body in case he needed to incapacitate someone. Tenten, on the other hand, granted the blond-haired teenager the use of senbons – she thought they would fit him the best since he might need something long-ranged since he's a medic – and taught him several tricks when using them.

He's learned so much from Team 3, thankful for all of it.

"Ah, Naruto!" The medic-in-training was pulled from his thoughts, seeing Sakura perched on the bridge's ledge, waving at him.

He power-walked the rest of the way to her, "Sakura, how are you today?"

"I'm a little bored, but I don't have to worry about that now; you're here." The pink-haired kunoichi grinned, swinging her legs back-and-forth, "Oh, how was your little training  _thing_ with Team 3?"

Naruto brightened up, bouncing slightly, "Amazing! Lee is making excellent progress. I think within six months, he could completely master the eight gates."

"A-Are you serious?!" Sakura's eyes were wide, "I read that it could take  _decades_  for someone to master the eight gates!"

"Yeah, but they didn't have a medic helping them out." He pointed to him, beaming up at her.

"Medic-in-training." A voice corrected him.

The two turned towards the end of the bridge, seeing their other teammate walking up to them. Naruto and Sakura grinned, "Sasuke!"

He rolled his eyes at them, walking the rest of the way, "What are you two going on about now?"

"Oh, we were just talking about how Naruto is awesome at his job." Sakura pointed at her blond teammate.

He flushed pink, "We were  _not_ talking about  _that_. We were conversing about Lee's eight gates training and how much he's progressed."

"Same difference." The girl scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "He wouldn't have gotten there had you not helped him."

"Sounds about right." Sasuke shrugged, giving them a bored look, "How many gates has he mastered so far? Last time I heard it was like two or three."

"He's mastered four now; we're working on the fifth one in about a week or two." Naruto sighed, looking to the sky with a contemplating look, "I'm a little scared to continue with this training, though, since Guy-sensei told me that he has problems with the fifth gate some days and Lee is only fourteen. If anything happens to his body while using the fifth gate, it could have  _serious_ and maybe even irreversible repercussions."

"Well, why don't you discuss with Guy-sensei and Lee about it?" Sakura suggested, "You also have to think about yourself and think about whether you are prepared for the worse or not."

Sasuke nodded to that, leaning against the bridge, "Yeah, because even if you're like a  _prodigy_  with medical ninjutsu, will that be enough to fight against what might occur in his body?"

"You both make very valuable points." The medic-in-training nodded his head, "Think I should bring this up to Dr. Terra?"

"What about Dr. Chakochi or Dr. Yiruma? Aren't they more familiar with Lee's condition?" The pink-haired teenager raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yeah, but Dr. Terra has more experience under her belt," Naruto argued.

Sasuke stared at him, "Are you sure that you aren't just picking favorites? Dr. Yiruma is the  _head-medic_."

"And Dr. Chakochi is a retired medic so doesn't that put them above Dr. Terra?" Sakura questioned.

The medic-in-training thought for a second, "I… I have no idea."

"Then just ask all of them the next time you see them." The Uchiha waved it off.

"What are you three arguing about today?" A fourth voice joined them, seemingly to have appeared out of nowhere.

"Nothing." They all responded quickly, heads turning to stare at their teacher with expectant eyes.

Kakashi blinked once, "Well if it's really nothing then I guess we should be on our way."

"New mission?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Spot on." He waved them over to him as they headed towards the middle of the village where the Third Hokage would be sitting in his office, "Come on now, we don't want to be late."

"Says the guy that's late every day," Sakura grumbled, an amused glint in her eye.

Their teacher ignored the comment as they walked. "So," He started, plucking his perverted book out from a compartment in his vest and randomly picked a page to start reading from, "How is the weapons' training?"

Naruto turned to his other two teammates, knowing that Kakashi had been talking about them since he'd been focusing on his medical ninjutsu and taijutsu as of lately, "Yeah, I haven't heard either of you talk about any progress."

"Sakura needs to work on her footing." Sasuke stated bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest, "She's gotten the technique down fairly well but she just can't keep damn her feet on the ground."

"It's not my fault!" She grounded out.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, "Your feet, your  _fault_."

Sakura huffed before pouting and looking away, "Well, at least I'm starting to become efficient at that technique with the ninja wire I made a few weeks ago."

"That's probably the best thing you've done." Sasuke admitted, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Maybe you should incorporate…"

Kakashi and Naruto watched the two converse with each other about technique and prowess in battlefield, a little bit of a taijutsu style sprinkled here and there. Their teammates had completely forgotten about the outside world, simply talking tactics and possible training methods. Both teacher and student glanced at each other, chuckling under their breath.

"I remember when Sakura used to be Sasuke' number one fangirl." Naruto mumbled to the older man, words unheard by the conversing teenagers behind them, "Now she's talking to him like they've been best friends for years."

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, and Sasuke isn't as brooding as before and he doesn't talk about avenging his clan as often."

They glanced back as Sasuke and Sakura once more, wondering if they were listening to their conversation at all. "Kakashi-sensei?" The medic-in-training spoke quietly, "Can I be honest about something?"

"Of course." He smiled down at the younger teenager.

"I had a lot of doubts about our team; I had no idea what our dynamic would be and it was pretty strange to talk to them about… well,  _everything_." Naruto shrugged, "I thought Sasuke hated me for a while or just resented me. I thought that it would make our teamwork falter and fail but we are pretty close now. And Sakura used to yell at me all the time, not to mention that I used to have a crush on her at one point when we were back in the academy. She's super nice to me and I can only see her as a sister now."

"I share the same kind of doubts, well, at least in the beginning." Kakashi spoke calmly, "When I was told which three students I was given, I was almost certain that you three were going to end up failing the test I gave you three."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. In-depth teacher reports are given to Jonnin's to get a read on their gennin team, not to mention the assessments they made on all of you." The silver-haired man waved his hand passively, "It made Sasuke seem like this depressing emo kid that kept to himself and wanted to avenge his clan. I didn't expect him to end up like that." He pointed back to where the Uchiha was still talking. Naruto swiveled his head to stare at his teacher once more. "Then there was Sakura. Reports told me she was book-smart but was  _obsessed_  with Sasuke." Kakashi shook his head, "I knew there was going to be a problem with that, of course, with both on the same team… And then there was you."

"Was mine bad?" The blond-haired medic-in-training raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Well, sort of. After the Mizuki incident, I couldn't decipher what kind of person you were since most of your later records had been destroyed that night. So, I asked around but I didn't get much intel and I didn't even think to stop at the hospital." He chuckled at this, pocketing his book as they got closer to the Hokage's office, "The only thing there was a teacher report from when you were about seven or eight; you were quite the rebel, weren't you?"

Naruto flushed red, pranks flashing in his mind, "Ah, yeah… sort of."

"From that, I was expecting a trickster, a good-for-nothing... a dead last." Kakashi stared down at him, giving his student an eye-smile, "I'm glad I was proven wrong!"

Stars seemed to sparkle in the Jinchuriki's eyes as he caught on to what his teacher was telling him, a large smile breaking out on Naruto's face, "I'll try to live up to your expectations."

 _"You already have."_ The silver-haired man turned to his other students, "We're here." This seemed to break Sakura and Sasuke out of whatever they were talking about. Team 7 walked up the stairs, some of Naruto's patients from the hospital recognizing him and stopping to say something to him. His teammates chuckled at his popularity but they eventually made it to the Hokage's office. Kakashi knocked twice.

"Come in." A voice said from inside. Pushing the door open, the four of them stood in front of the Third Hokage. Hiruzen smiled at them, "Ah, Team 7, glad you could join me." He shuffled some papers on his desk before eyeing them. "I have a new mission for you today." He stated.

"Did Tora escape again?" Sakura questioned, giving the Hokage an amused look.

He chuckled, shaking his head, "No, this mission is a little different from anything you've done so far."

"What?" The three gennin questioned at the same time.

"Yes, Team 7, it's time for your first C-ranked mission," Hiruzen smirked.

"WHAT?!" Shocked and excited looks bounced on their faces, shoving each other in their little bout of immature playfulness.

Kakashi glanced down at his students as they excitedly talked amongst themselves about a C-ranked mission, an eye-smile on his face. His gennin were all so talented in some shape or form, all different from one another yet they shared many of the same experiences to be an effective team and a force to be reckoned with. There wasn't one that wasn't strong; they all had different talents that, in their own way, would allow them to be able to hold themselves against the enemy.

Sakura has a strong mind and would probably be an excellent strategist when she got older. Granted, she's not even  _close_ to matching a Nara's intelligence, but she's not that far off. She a caring and compassionate person who cares for others, especially her teammates. The kunoichi also followed directives easily, respecting those older than her. Not to mention, with her recent training in weapons and her skills as a sharpshooter, she would soon be someone the enemy wouldn't want to face alone; Kakashi was sure of this.

Despite what he'd originally thought of the Uchiha, Sasuke was starting to become more of a team player instead of the lone wolf kind-of-guy. He was opening up more and cooperated more often. There was friendship and companionship for his teammates as they worked together; Kakashi could see behind his somber face and cold eyes, could see that Sasuke honestly cared about Sakura and Naruto. He's physically strong and has a wide range of ninjutsu at his disposable, able to use his skills and talents to be a menace on the battlefield.

And Naruto?

Naruto would be the one person no one would suspect to be a threat until he came at you, hands glowing blue and the power of a medic-in-training in his heart. He's grown from a troublemaker to a level-headed teenager with a heart of gold and a smile of sunshine. He wants to help people no matter what and will do anything to make sure that people are taken care of. His medical prowess is astonishing and his drive to not only be efficient in medical ninjutsu but to also hone his other abilities as a ninja so he won't hinder his team in any way.

Team 7 would be one for the history books, Kakashi could feel it in his bones.

Apparently, he'd zoned out because Hiruzen was waving his hands in the air, silencing his gennin. "Your mission is to protect your client at all costs as he finishes building a bridge." The Third Hokage looked at the door, "You may come in now."

The door clicked open, an older man walking in. He held a large beer bottle – it was already halfway empty – in his large, tanned hands. He swayed in the doorway, cold eyes glaring at the team. The older man swiped a hand to his chin, removing the cold liquid from his gray beard. His eyebrows furrowed as if angered, eyes peering past the team to stare incredulously at the Hokage, "What this? It's just a bunch of damn kids!"

The gennins shared a look but did not say anything.

"Especially that one, the smallest one with the idiotic face." Their client slurred, "Are you really a ninja?"

Team 7 glanced at each other, everyone mentally looking to see which one was the smallest. All eyes fell on to Naruto who stood there with a stern face. Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi looked back to each other, one singular thought running through their heads,  _"Oh shit."_

Naruto stepped forward, bowing his head politely, "Ah, it is a pleasure to work with you. May I please know what our client's name is?"

The older man furrowed his eyebrows, rolling his eyes and scoffing, "I'm Tazuna, veteran bridge builder."

"Ah, Tazuna-san, nice to be of acquaintance." His eyes held a glint that both the Hokage and his teammates knew all too well, "Though if you wish to be protected by my teammates and I, you should know that we cannot simply protect you if you walk around like a drunken chicken. Lay off the alcohol and we just might be able to protect you from just about anything. How does that sound?"

"Like hell I'll do that." Tazuna gave him an angry glare.

"You don't seem to get it. It's only been about a minute or two since I've met you and I'm already trying to protect you. From who?" Naruto grinned slightly, "Yourself, of course. All that alcohol must have your kidney screaming for some water, don't you think."

"Here we go again," Sasuke mumbled.

"You know, from the looks of it, I can already see the side effects of alcoholism on you. You seem irritable so that could be the result from a recent hangover, one that you're probably refusing to treat. Not to mention the headache I'm sure you have." The medic-in-training looked at the man intensely, "Like, I'm sure if I just started yelling right about now-"

"You better not fucking yell,  _brat_." Tazuna grumbled, realizing something about the kid.

"Ah, so I was correct." Naruto smirked, "I also guessing that you've been struggling with high blood pressure for… maybe about the last few years? Correct me if I'm wrong, Tazuna-san."

Sakura rolled her eyes, whispering to Sasuke, "Yeah, like he's ever wrong when it comes to this shit."

"Some types of alcoholism can lead to depression, liver damage which would require extensive surgery and a liver transplant to treat it, and cancer. If you have a family, I'm sure they wouldn't be too pleased to see you throw your life away to something so disgusting as alcohol." He shook his head slightly.

Kakashi narrowed his eye at his student,  _"How do you know whether alcohol is disgusting or not?"_

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "Though, you are also at a risk of killing your brain cells by being a long-term alcoholic which will inevitably lead to certain brain disorders as well as a lowered level of mental or physical functions. You could also very well get pancreatitis."

"What pancreatitis?" Sasuke mumbled, hoping to not be heard.

"Glad you asked, Sasuke!" Naruto piped up, smiling at his teammates.

The only female on his team sighed, "Way to go, Sasuke."

"Sorry."

"Pancreatitis is a very dangerous inflammation of the pancreas that can also cause nerve damage." Naruto stopped for a second, staring at their client, "You look like you'd like to say something."

"Well, yeah,  _brat_." Tazuna grumbled before sighing, "How the hell do you know any of this shit? We don't even know each other."

"Well, I'm a medic-in-training. I'm learning to identify problems in people in case they need treatment." The blond-haired gennin smiled, "Based on what I've already told you, I can promise, Tazuna-san, that I will make sure that nothing bad will happen to you as you build this bridge of yours. I will not rest until I know that you are safe; you will be protected and should you ever be harmed, I will bring you back up to full-health."

He sighed, "Nice pep-talk, kid."

"I'd have to agree, Naruto." Hiruzen smiled, gaining their attention once more, "You're getting better and better every day."

"Thank you, Jiji!" He beamed.

"Now, for further elaboration, Team 7, your mission is to escort Tazuna to the Land of the Waves where you will stay with him until the bridge he is working on is completed." The Third Hokage stared at the five people in front of him, "I estimate that this mission will take up to about two or three weeks, so I expect you all to pack for that long."

"Yes, sir!"

Kakashi turned to his students, "Alright everyone, I want you three to meet up at the east gate in an hour with enough supplies to last for several weeks. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!" One-by-one, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto left the office. While his other two teammates headed for their homes to back, the medic-in-training headed for the hospital. After all, Dr. Terra did want to see him and if he was going to be gone for at least two weeks, he wanted to figure out why she called him.

Speaking of that, he should probably say goodbye to Shikamaru before he leaves…

Naruto stepped up to the hospital, automatic doors opening for him. He smiled at the familiar setting, walking up to the nurse's station. "Kiroku-san." The gennin greeted politely, giving the woman a warm smile.

She glanced up, eyes lighting up with recognition, "Naru-chan!"

The blond-haired teenager rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Kiroku-san, I thought we talked about  _that_  nickname."

Kiroku rolled her eyes, long fingernails tapping her chin, "Oh, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah right." He chuckled slightly.

"So, Naru-chan…" Her voice trailed off, seeing the pout on his lips at the nickname before continuing, "What brings you here? Today's your day off, you should be relaxing or something."

Naruto shook his head, shrugging slightly, "Dr. Terra called me in, said she needed to tell me something important."

Kiroku's eyes light up with excitement, a bubbly giggle erupting from her mouth, "Oh, so today's the day, huh?"

"What?"

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, Naru-chan!" She fanned herself, eyes glossing over, "You're growing up!"

He furrowed his eyebrows, "I… What are you talking about?"

The older woman shook her head, getting a hold of her emotions, "I'm not allowed to say, but… congratulations, Naruto, you really did it."

"I…" Now he was really confused. The playfulness was gone from Kiroku's voice and she was calling him by his  _real_ name, not that stupid nickname she constantly called him by. He was curious, confused, and starting to feel anxious about the entire situation.

Kiroku turned around in her seat, looking for another nurse, "Riozawa!"

"Huh?" The man called from across the nurse's station, lifting his head from a medical report.

"Today's the day!" She squealed, pointing at Naruto.

A large grin, one that the blond-haired teenager was rarely ever exposed to, spread across Riozawa's face, "Man, I can't believe how much he's grown."

"I know right!" Kiroku smiled brightly, glancing back at their favorite medic-in-training, "That's what I was saying!"

The man smiled contently, "Congratulations, Naruto, you earned it."

Naruto wasn't exactly sure what to say at this point. Instead of responding to their praise, he looked at the ground, "Where is Dr. Terra now?"

Riozawa pointed to the stairs, "Third floor, should be tending to Mr. Suchimaru's wife again."

"She's in the hospital again?" He raised an eyebrow, "Her kidney's acting up again?"

"No, it's her bladder this time. Most likely a UTI right now but it could turn into a kidney infection." Kiroku responded instead before waving her hand, "Hurry up now, you know how Dr. Terra is."

"Doesn't like to be kept waiting." Naruto responded almost instantly, the words very common and prominent in his mind, "Have a good day, Kiroku-san, Riozawa-san." As he walked away, he could hear the two nurses talking adamantly together, exclaiming to each other that they need to tell everyone  _now_.

Whatever they were talking about was going down today.

He walked up the stairs aimlessly, having memorized exactly where he's supposed to go. This allowed him to think about what the  _hell_ was going on at the hospital. From what he could deduce from his conversation with the nurses, Naruto knew that whatever it could be was something good? If it was bad, why would Kiroku and Riozawa tell him congratulations? Had he done anything as of lately that deserved congratulations? Well, there was the thing with Lee and the eight gates; could it be about that? It might, that's the only plausible thing right now.

Had he done anything else? Naruto went on his first date with his first boyfriend and the two shared a kiss; his  _first!_  How would anyone besides him and Shikamaru know any of that? The only ones who know that Naruto was going on a date were his team… Shikamaru's parents probably knew as well. No one at the hospital should know unless Shikamaru is the kind of person to kiss-and-tell… probably not, he's too lazy for that. What could it be?

Naruto wracked his mind for the answer, a thoughtful look on his face. Could it be the success of the new and improved soldier pills he created so long ago? They'd been given a name nearly six months ago, booster pellets  **(1)** , coined by an ANBU who'd been reporting to him and Dr. Terra about the effects of using these improved soldier pills for prolonged periods of time. It probably wasn't that, so what was it?

"There you are, Uzumaki-ya!" The cheery voice pulled the boy from his thoughts.

"Dr. Yiruma?" Naruto blinked, staring up at the lanky man, "How can I help you today?"

"Well, you can start by hurrying up. You're making Dr. Terra-ya wait on you!" Yiruma blinked his large eyes, shooing him off in a direction, "Also, congratulations!"

" _Why does everyone keep saying that?"_ He thought to himself as he followed the head medic towards one of the break rooms on the third floor. The closer they got, the more anxious he became, mind swirling with thoughts. He was so confused, so lost as to what was going on.

A hand plopped down on his shoulder; that seemed to be happening way too much nowadays. Yiruma squeezed slightly, giving the teenager a small smile, "No need to stress, Uzumaki-ya."

" _Easy for you to say, you know what's going on."_ Naruto thought to himself, nodding slightly to appease the doctor.

The head medic opened to door, poking his head into the room, "He's here." Yiruma pulled him into the room, eager to get the show on the road.

Naruto stepped in, seeing Terra and Chakochi standing in the middle of the room with very proud and content smiles on their faces. He looked between the two, Yiruma going over to lean against the wall beside them. His blue eyes settled onto Terra, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." She stepped forwarding, lifting a yellow folder, one that Naruto hadn't noticed beforehand, "You may want to read this."

He cautiously grabbed the folder from the older woman's hands, anxiety building up in his chest. Opening it, Naruto read the words on the front page carefully:

_Naruto Uzumaki,_

_It is astounding how much you've grown over the last six years. Taking up any profession at such an early age is a challenge feat in and of itself and for you to choose the medical field as your own would make anyone proud. Your dedication and hardworking attitude towards this job makes us consider you in a new light…_

"No way…" He breathed out, eyes starting to water up.

… _Six years' worth of practicing and honing your skills as a medic have not gone unnoticed. Your active role in the healing of Konohagakure people have all been recorded and held amongst the United Medical Association here at the hospital…_

Naruto clasped a hand to his mouth, blinking back the tears welling up in his mouth, completely in shock, "T-This… This is…"

… _Even from the earliest days of your interest in medical ninjutsu to your most recent actions to heal this villages' people, we can tell that you can make it in this work field. We have gathered more than enough evidence to make it official…_

"I'm… t-this is… I…" He couldn't form words, glancing up at the teary-eyed doctors standing before him with wide smiles and proud faces.

… _Your academy teacher, Iruka Umino, expressed your innate behavior towards medical ninjutsu and how far you came when you were still under his tutelage. This leading up to you saving his life after the 'Mizuki incident' which has earned you a soft spot in all of the United Medical Association. This has showed us your courage to work under pressure and the initiative to help people in need, a great trait to have when working in this field…_

"I... I j-just..." He mumbled, hand swiping his eyes as he read on.

… _Even after graduating and becoming a gennin, your sensei, Kakashi Hatake, told us of your ability to keep a team together on the battlefield and protecting each and every single one of them while not putting yourself directly in harm's way..._

"I..."

… _You have always followed the rules of a medic. It's about time you started being treated like one…_

His eyes widened, the last words echoing in his mind.

… _Congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki, medic of Konohagakure._

"I… I d-did it…" He was unbelieving, closing the yellow folder and setting it down on the counter beside him. Tears dripped down his face, a large smile shining brightly. "I did it!" Naruto was laughing, waterworks continuing as he cried with joy.

Terra sniffled, "Oh, you big baby, come here!" She tugged him into a hug, squishing him tightly. The medic-in-training – scratch that –  _medic_ chuckled, hugging her back.

"Don't leave us hanging!" Chakochi sobbed, nose and cheeks red as she wrapped her arms around the two, squashing them together.

"I want in on this moment!" Yiruma exclaimed, joining the hug.

After several seconds of laughing, sobbing, and, of course, hugging, the four broke apart. Naruto rubbed his tears away, still red in the face but more decent looking. He looked to them, "Thank you, all of you. I wouldn't have gotten this far had it not been for you three."

"Hey, you did all the work, we just advised you when you needed it." Chakochi grinned, giving him a proud smile.

Yiruma cheered, bouncing around the room in his excitement, Naruto laughing at him slightly, "We had wanted this for you for the past couple of years but the UMA just wouldn't allow it, said you needed more experience; guess they finally came around."

"The UMA just finally understood that Naruto is an amazing medic and can finally get the recognition he deserved." Terra responded contently, beaming down at the teenager, "We knew you could do it, Naruto."

He grinned, bobbing his head, "I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't, kiddo." The older woman ruffled the kid's hair, getting a pout from him,  _"You could never let me down."_

And so, one bumped up in rank. No longer was Naruto the  _medic-in-training_  as he was once referred to. He was Naruto Uzumaki, medic of Konohagakure.

* * *

 

**1\. Thank you** _OnyxiaUchihaCipher_ **for the name** _**booster pellets** _ **for the new and improved soldier pills.**

 


	19. Tension in the Office

To be blunt, Kakashi was amused.

Sometimes he forgot that Naruto was this encyclopedia of medical knowledge that could save the world from every illness. He forgot about the way the boy's – correction,  _teenager's_ – face would light up with an exuberance and cunningness so unlike his generation. He'd go on for hours simply talking about the pros and cons if you, just for the hell of it, drink  _water_. Naruto never seemed bored with adamantly talking in your ear about how your work ethic – or lack of, in some people's cases – could affect your body and ways to work around it.

It was funny and certainly helpful, but never annoying.

"Now, for further elaboration," Hiruzen spoke, eyes crinkling slightly.

Kakashi turned towards Hiruzen, immediately noticing the small movements of the old man's hand, twitching near the drawn in his desk where the old pipe laid unsmoked. After all his years in ANBU standing beside the Third Hokage, the Jonnin could instantly recognize the calm distress that called out for a smoke, anything to calm his troubled heart.  _"Something's going on."_ He thought to himself, standing just a little straighter, not enough to arouse suspicion.

"Team 7, your mission is to escort Tazuna to the Land of the Waves where you will stay with him until the bridge he is working on is completed." The Third Hokage stared at the five people in front of him, "I estimate that this mission will take up to about two or three weeks, so I expect you all to pack for that long."

"Yes, sir!"

The silver-haired Jonnin wanted to know what was making his Kage this concerned. With his sudden resolve settling into his soul, the man turned to his students, giving them a famous eye-smile, "Alright everyone." Three pairs of eyes stared at him with immediate recognition of power; it was kind of creepy how fast they were ready to set their full attention to him. "I want you three to meet up at the east gate in an hour with enough supplies to last for several weeks." Kakashi still needed to find out what was going on, "Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" They shouted once more, Sakura giving him a semi-salute, heading for the door first. Their teacher couldn't have missed the large smile on her face, even if he tried. Naruto left next, rushing out the door to probably finish a few more tasks before they left on their mission; busy child, Kakashi mused to himself. Sasuke lazily walked out the door with his head held just a little bit higher this time.

Once they had all left, Kakashi turned his eye-smile towards his client, "Alright, Tazuna-san, we will be leaving in an hour. This should give you enough time to get your stuff."

The old man shrugged, rolling his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever." With that, he sulked out of the room, heading for his motel room.

"I can't get anything by you, can I?" Hiruzen's gruff voice pulled the Jonnin back to the task at hand, humor ghosting his words.

"I was your right-hand man for many years; I notice  _everything_." Kakashi stated, staring at his twitching phalanges again, "I'm not Naruto, you know, so it's okay for you to smoke a little bit."

"Oh, thank Kami." He mumbled to himself, drawing opening and shutting in a second flat, pipe sticking out of his mouth. Lighting the tobacco inside, the Third Hokage drew in a long breath, eyes sliding shut as he collected his thoughts. Kakashi allowed him to do so, standing quietly in front of his desk. It was a minute or two before the old man finally glanced at the former ANBU member. "Tsunade refuses to send me anything back; I'm not even sure if my letters have been getting to her." Hiruzen looked stricken, "I have little faith in her returning to Konoha in time for the Chunin exams."

"So that means…" He didn't even want to finish his sentence, gulping back the churning feeling in his stomach.

"Kakashi, there is a very high chance that Naruto's medical ninjutsu will need to be used  _extensively_." The Hokage sighed, drawing in another breath of toxicity.

"Sir, with all due respects, isn't there anything else that we could do?" The former ANBU member questioned, trying to keep his composure.

"I hope to find another way before any attack can be made against Konoha but it isn't looking good." The Sarutobi man stated.

The teacher of three thought for a second, "What about the other doctors, nurse, or medics in the village? Surely one of them can take his spot."

"Other than Tsunade, there really wouldn't be anyone that could take his place." The Third Hokage took another breather, smoke filling his lungs, "Both of them have exceptional qualities as a medic-nin while also being able to heal multiple people at once, Tsunade's slugs and Naruto's shadow clones."

"She can't be the only one!" He knew his voice was rising, but this was  _Naruto_ , kind and smart Naruto, his  _student_.

"Kakashi." Hiruzen's voice was stern making the teacher realize his mistake; he wasn't the only one suffering from the idea of putting Naruto in this place.

"My apologies," Kakashi whispered out.

He shook his head, sighing, "No, it is quite alright. I figured you might react like this." They stood there for several seconds, neither knowing what to say. It wasn't until some time had passed that Hiruzen finally cleared his throat, "I've considered who could replace Naruto in this failsafe plan but the numbers aren't good."

"How so?"

"I found that there are only twenty-three civilian doctors and nearly fifty nurses that currently work at the hospital along with nine former doctors and nurses somewhere in the village. However,  _none_  of them have any training in medical ninjutsu, leaving them at a disadvantage. Not to mention that there are only so many utilities in the hospital or places to store the injured." The other stayed silent during the Sarutobi man's explanation, "Out of the  _thousands_  and  _thousands_  of people in this village, there are only  _eleven_  certified medics – Naruto not included – that live in this village with one former medic."

" _Oh Kami."_ The silver-haired Jonnin broke eye-contact with the Third Hokage, glancing away to collect himself, if only a little bit,  _"This can't be happening."_

"Almost fifty-thousand shinobi in this village, both retired and on-duty, with only thirteen medics." Hiruzen placed his head in his hands, "You can see my predicament, can't you?"

"Absolutely." Kakashi's head hung slightly, words stuck in his throat, "And Naruto would be an absolute _benefit_  should an attack happen and hundreds of people are injured, with his shadow clones. All of them have a mind of their own and don't need instructions for them to do what's right… and with split chakra, those clones could heal anyone they encounter."

The Third Hokage nodded his head slowly, "Yes, but this could come with a deathly cost."

"Chakra exhaustion." The silver-haired Jonnin breathed out shakily, "There is a good chance that Naruto could have  _severe_ chakra exhaustion from creating so many shadow clones that have to use all his chakra healing people."

"And his clones can be destroyed with a single hit, meaning that he could make as many clones as he wants but how many of them are going to actually get to the wounded?" The older man had clouds in his eyes, dark stormy clouds, "I, for one, have never seen Naruto at his limit so I'm not even sure if he could get chakra exhaustion."

"That's not even counting the Kyuubi's influence. If he were to access that, he could potentially have more than enough chakra to heal the entire village but the cost could be more than any of us could predict." Kakashi suggested, crossing his arms over his broad chest, a thought coming to him, "Why don't you go talk with those three doctors Naruto is always going on about? They could help you in your decision making. And one of them is your friend, correct?"

"Yes, Dr. Terra and I have known each other for many years now." Hiruzen nodded his head, "The thought has crossed my mind more than a few times."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Then why haven't you brought it up?"

"It seems that Dr. Terra has grown quite fond of Naruto over the years and I'm guessing she would do absolutely anything to keep him out of danger, which is contradicting since he  _is_ a ninja. Her opinion would be biased and, therefore, not give any concrete evidence that I should base my options off." The Hokage sucked at his pipe greedily, "She'd tell me to fuck off and leave Naruto out of this but, as sad as it is to say, I have to think of the sake of the village and not just anyone individually should an attack happen."

"Then what about those other two, the former medic and the head medic? Aren't those credible sources?" Kakashi suggested, the churning in his stomach coming back to haunt him.

The older man gazed at his clasped hands balanced in front of his face, "I… I have no excuse for not conversing with them about this. Dr. Chakochi has years and years of arduous work, talent, and experience to back up but she is old and naïve; she believes too much in people's abilities to see their weaknesses. That's probably why she retired from her duties as a medic. I don't think I could simply trust her on this."

"And the other one?"

"Dr. Yiruma is more than experienced to take on the role of head medic but he is young, way too young. He dotes on Naruto about this and that, spoiling him and praising him. While he has a strong voice to his fellow doctors and medics, Dr. Yiruma doesn't seem to have the necessary backbone to tell Naruto no which could be a big problem." Hiruzen stared into the Jonnin's worried eyes, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, "Dr. Yiruma could tell me that yes, Naruto is ready to take on a task like healing the entire wounded population should it come down to it but would it be credible enough to go from? If he gave Naruto permission to go forth with the shadow clone healing process, it could very well get him killed."

It was quiet for several minutes before Kakashi let out a choked laugh, "We really are in a bind, aren't we?"

"Indeed."

"Lord Third, couldn't Dr. Terra, Dr. Yiruma, or Dr. Chakochi take Naruto's place?" Kakashi questioned hopefully, eyebrows furrowed together.

He thought for a second before slowly shaking his head, "I wouldn't be too sure."

"Why not?"

"Well, since Dr. Yiruma is the head medic law, he is bound to the law that had been created by the Second Hokage." The older man informed.

The silver-haired Jonnin cocked his head to the side, "What does it state?"

"The law requires the head medic, under extreme circumstances where the Hokage is attacked, to be at the Hokage's side as quickly as they can to make sure that the leader of the village is not killed." Hiruzen sighed.

"And I'm guessing that Dr. Terra doesn't have any medical ninjutsu training?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Correct. As for Dr. Chakochi, she wouldn't last very long healing so many people." He looked at his pipe, the tobacco inside slowly dwindling away, "Her medical files shown that her chakra output has decreased with age and retirement. There is no way she'd be able to heal even  _half_ the people Naruto could with his shadow clones without passing out due to chakra exhaustion or dying in the process."

The Jonnin sighed, eyes downcast and face drained of color, "I see."

"Kakashi."

"Yes, sir?"

"You are free to speak your mind about this, should you wish to," Hiruzen informed.

The other man thought for several seconds, mind still whirling from the information. "I…" He took a deep breath, shoulders straightening ever so slightly, "Naruto is just a  _kid_ ; he's young, so  _very_ young. He's definitely had some experience with injured people and the dead by working at the hospital but that was in a controlled environment." Kakashi glanced up, seeing the Hokage's eyes darkening with understanding and reasoning. "He could very well be traumatized by the events should the extent of the attack is massive. The shock of Konoha being attacked along with the cries of injured civilians could prevent him from doing his best." He rubbed the back of his neck in thought, "I haven't exactly seen him work under heavily stressed conditions. The only thing that could come close would be during my bell test but, even then, he was pretty calm. I have no idea if that's what could happen but it's definitely a possibility, one that I don't want to take."

"Thank you, Kakashi." Hiruzen swallowed, eyes sliding shut, eyebrows furrowed. Thoughts whirled around his mind. The pipe had been forgotten for the moment, his sole thoughts and actions revolving around Naruto.

" _Naruto's just a kid…"_

"I've got a lot of talking to do in the next few days." He mumbled out, eyeing Kakashi, "You're dismissed. Good luck on your mission."

He bowed stiffly, "Take care, Lord Third."

" _I will try my best."_ The Sarutobi man thought bitterly, watching the former ANBU agent walk out of the room.

* * *

"Good luck on your mission, kid." Terra had said to him before giving him some time off and stocking his person up with some medical supplies from the hospital. Naruto appreciated this, having hugged the three doctors before making his way down to the lobby. He'd probably spent way too much time here, more than he'd originally intended – that's for sure – but it was honestly for a good reason.

He's a medic-nin now.

Finally reaching the lowest floor, Naruto was suddenly bombarded by nurses, grinning at him and clapping him on the back for a job-well-done. Kiroku was at the front, hands smooshing his face together very unprofessionally, "Ah, it was so hard not to say anything when you arrived today but now I can really say congrats on becoming a medic, Naru-chan!"

The blond-haired teenager blushed by the attention, glancing at the clock in the lobby; he only had about forty-five minutes until he had to be by the east gate, "Thank you, Kiroku-san."

"You're going to do so many great things, kid," Riozawa stated, his arms crossed over his broad chest, a proud glint in his eyes.

"I'll try my best," Naruto assured, other nurses gushing over his new promotion. They were all talking about getting people together for a little party this evening. "Ah, while that does sound fun and all, I have a mission that I'm supposed to be going on for a little while." He stated sheepishly. They understood immediately, sending him on his way with several 'good-luck' wishing and 'we're-proud-of-you' filling his ears.

He leaves the hospital with a bright smile on his face, heading for his apartment first, leaping to the roofs for quicker access. Naruto went through a mental checklist for what he'd need. He'd need some clothes, maybe not much, but just enough for a few days since they could always be washed. The medic already had a to-go bag stocked full of different necessities; Sasuke had suggested he make one since they were bound to have a C-ranked mission soon. Naruto would also need to check the cupboard by his bed for his booster pellets, just in case they were engaged in a long-term fight with stronger opponents. Other than that, he was pretty sure he had everything he'd need for this mission.

The blond-haired medic drops onto the roof of his apartment complex, running towards the fire escape and taking the stairs down to his open window. Naruto dashed around the room quickly, dragging the to-go bag over his back, securing it around his shoulders. He easily found the booster pellets before stuffing them into one of his pants pockets for easy access. The teenager gave the room a once-over, noticing the black headband – the one that he  _conveniently_ forgot to give back to Sakura after his date with Shikamaru – lying on his desk.

Naruto leaves the apartment and is back on the roofs, bangs pulled back by the headband as he headed towards the Nara estate. He only had another thirty or so minutes before he was late. As he is traveling, a sudden thought comes to mind.  _"I should probably see Lee or Guy – whichever one I find first – and tell them that training this Sunday is going to have to be postponed until I get back."_ He nodded to himself,  _"Wouldn't want to keep them waiting for me."_

With that, he drops back to the streets and walks the rest of the way towards Shikamaru's home. Coming up to the large entrance to the Nara estate, he suddenly felt very out-of-place.  _"Oh well."_ Naruto thought, trying to reassure himself of this feeling. He walked up to the visitor's desk and smiled at the two Nara's who only stared at him with a lazy expression.

"Naruto, welcome back." There was recognition in the man's eyes but he was dozing off.

The older woman raised an eyebrow, "Here to see Shikamaru again?"

"Yes, ma'am but I can't stay too long, I have a mission in a little bit," Naruto stated, being as polite as ever.

"Well, that should be fine. He's somewhere around here, last saw him with his mom… somewhere." The Nara man stated, laying his head in his hands.

"Thank you." He bowed his head, walking through the Nara estate, eyes wandering around to see if he could get a glimpse of his boyfriend. The medic flushed at the mere thought. Some people on the sides recognized Naruto, waving at him without any bit of exuberance. He'd gotten used to this and just waved back, giving them his brightest smile. He turned a corner and continued walking. The crowd was starting to thin out and he was slowly losing hope of finding his boyfriend. That is until...

"Naruto?" A voice called from behind him.

He turned around. A mother and son stood in the middle of the street, smiling at him. The medic instantly recognized them as Shikamaru and his mother, Yoshino. "I was looking for you." He stated, the two closed the distance, pulling each other into a shy but tight hug. Behind the two boys, Yoshino stood with a small smile on her face; she didn't say anything, simply letting the two converse.

The black-haired gennin pulled away first, "So, what's up? I can't exactly hang out today." He motioned towards his mother who just waved.

Naruto waved back before turning his attention back to his boyfriend, "No, I just wanted to say goodbye to you. I've got a two or three-week mission coming up."

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, "Your team got a C-ranked mission?"

"Crazy, right?" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "And there was also another thing that I wanted to tell you..."

"And that would be?" He raised an eyebrow in question, very curious.

"I've just been promoted to a medic." Naruto beamed.

The Nara heir grinned back, grabbing his boyfriend's hands, "That's amazing! I guess they finally have recognized how much of a remarkable job you do!" He pulled the other boy into a quick hug.

"I guess so." When they pulled away, both boys had a very prominent blush on their faces.

Shikamaru softly smiled at the other gennin, "You should probably go now, wouldn't want to keep your team waiting."

"Yeah." Naruto leaned in a pressed a quick kiss on the black-haired boy's cheek before walking towards the exit, leaving a flustered boy in his wake, "Bye!" As he left, he could see mother and son converse about something, exaggerated hand movements and pointing being involved. He chuckled at the interaction, approaching the visitor's station again.

"Well, that didn't take long." The woman stated.

"He has somewhere to be, of course, he didn't take long." The dozing man grumbled.

Naruto giggled slightly, "Do either of you have to time?"

"Twenty till one." They said almost in unison.

"Ah, I see, thank you." He bowed and left the Nara estate, simply walking down the streets,  _"Alright, so I'm northeast from the east gate… it's going to take about ten or so minutes to get there. Does that leave me with enough time to find Lee or Guy-sensei?"_ Naruto thought for a second before visibly sighing.  _"Probably not since conversing with those two takes at least twenty or thirty minutes."_ The medic furrowed his eyebrows,  _"But they really need to know about the change of plans."_

He was in a bind, luckily, there was a very familiar brunette man waving him over.

Naruto blinked slightly before grinning, heading over to him quickly, "Iruka-sensei!" He hadn't seen his teacher in  _months_.

"Ah, it's good to see you, kiddo!" The academy teacher looked him up and down, "New look?"

He glanced at his outfit and chuckled, "Yeah, been experimenting a little bit with my style."

Iruka nodded, "So, how are you liking your team?"

"Oh, we are all super close now and Kakashi-sensei is a great teacher," Naruto exclaimed, looking for the nearest clock for the time. He shouldn't be conversing now, he still had to find two youthful individuals before he left.

"That's… surprising." He blinked, "What about your medical…  _stuff_? How's that coming along?"

"Speaking on how I just got promoted to medic today, I guess it would be coming along just great." He beamed up at his former teacher who stood still in shock before chuckling and pulling him into a side hug.

"That's fantastic, Naruto! I'm so proud of you!" Iruka grinned.

"Well, you  _were_ the one to start me off with that book and all." The gennin smiled softly.

He laughed, releasing him from the hug, "I guess that's true. So, what's with all the rush today?"

"Oh, well, I have to speak with either Guy-sensei or Lee but I can't find either of them and I have a mission I'm supposed to be going on." He sighed.

Iruka blinked before laughing, "Well, then I guess running into you was just the right thing. I was about to meet up with some of the Jonnin teachers – Guy included – to discuss some student transcripts. If you want, I could pass the message onto him for you."

"Oh, thank you, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, "You are a life-saver, Iruka-sensei."

"I think that title should go to you." The brunette smiled lovingly, ruffling the teenager's hair, the two laughing, "What would you like for me to tell him?"

He thought for a second, "Tell Guy-sensei that I'm going to be going on a mission for two or three-weeks, so we won't be meeting up on Sunday like we had planned until I get back."

The older man nodded at him, "Will do."

The medic started to back off, waving at his former teacher, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka waved back, still chuckling to himself, "You're welcome."

The blond-haired gennin looks down at his watch, noticing that he had ten minutes to get to the east gate. "Plenty of time." He mumbled to himself, hopping to the roofs as to not walk in crowded streets. This allowed Naruto some time to think. Time has flown by so quickly that's it's kind of strange thinking back to who he used to be before that one lesson in the academy that started it all. He used to be a prankster, a good-for-nothing idiot, a dead last, an annoying brat altogether. Now, Naruto was a respectable medic with experience in his field and a knack for anything medically related. He earned his worth as a gennin doing missions around the village along with his side job at the hospital and selling booster pellets to the ANBU. People were starting to recognize him and acknowledge his presence in the village as a reputable medic instead of a brat.

His aspiration of finally being acknowledged by the village was coming together slowly.

It felt too much like a dream, one that he would wake up from and be eight-years-old again. He'd still be pranking unsuspecting people, causing trouble and hating the villagers as he went. He'd be vandalizing the Hokage Monument once more, laughing at people covered in paint after stepping outside of their homes. Naruto would still be wearing that horrible orange and blue jacket along with those tattered orange trousers. In that world, he wouldn't have graduated and would probably still be in the academy. It would be one where he still be rivals with Sasuke and have a big crush on Sakura instead of being best friends with both, laying down his life for either should it be needed. One where he wasn't madly in love with Shikamaru. It'd be one where he'd still be alone and everyone treated him like shit.

Should this be a dream, Naruto was going to live his life like it was real.

The gate was just in front of him now, Sakura and Sasuke standing before it, conversing with each other. A small pulled at his features as he approached his teammates. "Hey-o!" He called out.

His teammates turned towards him, grins pulling at their lips as he stood in front of them. Sasuke crossed his arms and scoffed, playfulness in his eyes, noticing the bright smile on Naruto's face, "Alright, spill it. You definitely want to tell us something."

"Does nothing get by you?" The Jinchuriki laughed allowed, getting a giggle from the only girl on their team, "Well, if you  _must_ know, I just got promoted to a medic."

There was silence for only a second before Sakura pulled him into a tight hug, squealing in his ear. He chuckled in response, hugging her back. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, Naruto!" She pulled away, staring at him with wide, bright green eyes.

A hand dropped onto his shoulder, Sasuke grinning at him, "Can't believe you're already a medic; good job."

Naruto beamed at the praises, pink creeping into his cheeks, "Thanks, guys, that really means a lot."

"Group hug!" Sakura suddenly shouted, pulling both boys in. The Uchiha besides her yelped, tripping over his feet slightly by the sudden movements. The medic, on the other hand, accepted his fate and wrapped his arms around both.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as the pink-haired girl laughed in his ear, "You both are always so loud." There was no malice in his words, only acceptance and happiness.

After a few more seconds of laughing, smiling, and hugging, they all pulled away. Sakura clapped her hands together, "When we get back from our mission, we should have a proper celebration."

"Oh, you don't have to go that far." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"What are we celebrating?" Kakashi smooth voice came from behind them, Tazuna trailing behind him with a large traveling bag stuck to his back.

"Naruto was promoted to a medic," Sasuke stated, pointing at the kid in question.

The silver-haired Jonnin stood still for all but a second before taking two large steps over to his gennin. His hand slide into the blond locks easily, ruffling them lovingly. "I knew you could do, kid."

Naruto could feel his eyes burning, such praise from his teacher swelling up in his heart, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

"Definitely deserves a proper celebration; I'll even pay for it." Kakashi chuckled, giving his students and eye-smile before turning towards his client, "Shall we be going?"

"Sure." Tazuna rolled his eyes, fixing his backpack as the group headed out for a long mission.

Naruto turned to speak to Sasuke who was behind him before noticing something – or rather  _someone_ – as they were leaving Konohagakure. The man didn't seem very important, he just thought it was weird to see someone with such long, spiky white hair walking around the village. He couldn't exactly see the man's face but he could tell that he was a ninja of some kind. He shrugged off the thought and doesn't think about it again, getting caught up in whatever his teammates were talking about.

 


	20. One Step Forward

 

It was warm outside, a small breeze flittering around them. It tugged at their clothes and kissed their cheeks as it passed. Birds flew high in the sky, cawing at each other in some musical performance that left the teenagers in awe of their beauty. The adults were pleasantly bathing in the sunlight. It was days like this that Kakashi simply couldn't fathom how such horrid things could cross his students' paths, especially Naruto's. The winding road ahead was sure to be rocky – from the Jonnin's perspective, that is – and he only hopes that things will be alright for his gennin.

The silver-haired man knew that whatever that was to come, he'd do his very best to shield his adorable gennins from the worst of it. They shouldn't have to go through what he went through all those years ago, shouldn't have to be battle hardened by thirteen nor be in the presence of war. It was a fickle thing, Kakashi mused since he knew that Naruto's presence as a leading medic in this upcoming attack could be vital in saving the lives of  _thousands_. However, the man simply couldn't let his student do something that suicidal – this goes for the three of them, not just Naruto. With a potential war around the corner, they had to be prepared for anything.

But until then, Kakashi just wanted to live in this moment with his students surrounding him with small grins and excited eyes.

Naruto chuckled at something the Uchiha said, lightly shoving him. He got an annoyed look from the boy, dark eyes rolling at the other teenager's antics. Instead of saying something back, the blond-haired gennin turned towards their client, "Say… Tazuna-san?" Vibrant blue eyes fluttered up at the older man, politeness in his voice.

Tazuna groaned slightly, trying not to let his frustration show on his face, "What do you want?" The tanned man clipped off the rest of his sentence, the unspoken  _'brat'_ staying in the confinements of his mind. After the medic's words in the Hokage's office, he's tried to keep some of his ruder comments to himself.

It wasn't easy, but he made the attempt.

"Your country is the Land of the Waves, right?" He inquired, the question gathering the attention of his teammates and teacher alike.

"What of it?" He narrowed his eyes at him, fingers itching to grab the sake bottle in his travel bag; children irritated him, especially children with knives.

Naruto lifted a hand in the air in some surrendering motion, a playful grin on his face, "Oh, no reason, just curious. That's all."

"Uh huh." Tazuna didn't believe him since he'd already witnessed the boy's continuous mumblings about this and that. There is no way that this is all for the conversation.

As if the world had answered him, Sakura turned towards the silver-haired Jonnin, "Say, Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi looks up from his perverted book, eye on his student, "Hm?"

"Are there ninjas in that land, too?" The pink-haired kunoichi questioned.

"No, there aren't ninjas in the Land of the Waves," A disappointed look crossed his students' faces, making Kakashi chuckle, "but in other nations, while cultures and customs are different, hidden villages exist, and there are ninjas there."

"The Five Great Nations." Sasuke piped in, hands in his pockets, "There is our village that's located in the Land of Fire, Konohagakure or the Village Hidden in the Leaves. We're in the middle of every other nation. To the west is Sunagakure – the Village Hidden in the Sand – somewhere in the Land of Wind. East of Konohagakure is the Land of Water, the Village Hidden in the Mist – Kirigakure. Northeast houses Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds of the Land of Lightning. And finally Iwagakure, the Village Hidden in the Rocks. The Land of Earth is northwest from us."

The Copy-Cat ninja gave the Uchiha an eye-smile, "I see that you are well-informed." The only response he got was a simple shrug.

"Each hidden village possesses a leader of sorts. Our village has the Hokage, Kiri has the Mizukage, Kumo has the Raikage, Suna has the Kazekage, and Iwa has the Tsuchikage." The black-haired gennin continued, voice monotone but eyes shining with interest.

"The Five Kage." Naruto bounced in, definitely intrigued by their conversation, "Only the leaders of each of these hidden villages are allowed to have the name of Kage or the Shadow. They are said to reign supreme over the tens of thousands of ninjas in each nation of the entire world."

Sakura looked on thoughtfully, "Isn't it because that the Five Great Nations hold such a large territory with immeasurable power that they're called this?"

"Since when did you three become so knowledgeable?" Kakashi gave the three an eye-smile, receiving annoyed looks from his students, "But, yes, you three are very much correct."

Tazuna rolled his eyes at their conversation, not saying anything but not wanting to hear much more from them,  _"I'll just have to deal with this until my bridge is complete, I guess."_ He  _really_  just wanted something to drink, not listen in to some ninja history lesson.

"To the many nations on the continent, the existence of shinobi villages is a measure of the nation's military strength. In other words, that is how these nations maintain their relationships with neighboring nations. You've probably witnessed this in our own village." The former ANBU member stated, getting nods from Sasuke and Sakura as well as a tilt of Naruto's head, "Even so, the villages are not under the control of the nations. They are equal in rank. And so, on a small island like the Land of the Waves, where it is difficult to be influenced by other nations, there is no need for a shinobi village."

"I see." The only kunoichi there bobbed her head in thought before glancing at their client, "So, there's no worry of getting into a fight with foreign ninjas?"

"Of course not." Their teacher headed calmly. His words made Tazuna stiffen up as he walked just a little faster ahead, his face hidden away from the distance. Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at his students. From the looks of it, Sasuke seemed to be the only one who had seen the movement as Sakura and Naruto were conversing about the different villages. Their eyes scanned each other in secrecy as if saying 'something-fishy-is-going-on-here' _,_ eyebrows lifting in question, heads tilting towards their client.

Sasuke slowed down as to stand beside the silver-haired man, "Think there's any possibility that Tazuna-san could be lying?"

He leaned just a little bit closer to Sasuke, voice low, "There is a very high probability of that as the Land of Waves is one of the poorest out there. Plus, Tazuna-san  _is_  just a bridge builder."

The Uchiha gave him a quizzical look, "What does that have to do with…  _this_?" He waved his hand discreetly towards their client.

"It relates since I'm pretty sure that Tazuna-san's pay is not high enough to purchase a C-ranked mission from Konoha," Kakashi stated quietly, suspicion in his voice.

"Couldn't he have saved up for it?" Sasuke asked.

He shook his head slowly, "If you're poor, your money goes to food and basic utilities, not a mission."

"Ah, I see."

Their conversation was very hush-hush and normally no one would be able to hear it as they'd fallen behind the group slightly. However, Kakashi saw the smallest movement from Naruto, as if listening in but not commenting on it. His and Sakura's voices quieted down, exaggerated hand movements from their previous conversation ceasing completely. There was a seriousness surrounding them, heads bowed close together. Kakashi would have smirked then had his pink-haired student looked over her shoulder, sending him a short, quick nod in understanding.

" _Despite them being caught up in conversation, they still are paying attention to not only me but Tazuna-san as well."_ Kakashi found himself thinking,  _"I have such great gennins."_ Though, from what he'd just witnessed, Naruto has a pretty good sense of hearing; that just might be useful.

"So," Tazuna started, slowing down just enough to make eye-contact with the group over his shoulder, "how long have you kids been gennin? You look pretty young to be given a C-ranked mission."

"We've been gennin for about…" Sakura tapped her chin, eyebrows furrowed together, "two months?"

"That doesn't sound right." Sasuke stated, equally in thought, "It's got to be almost four months by now."

"I thought it was closer to six months?" Naruto stepped in, looking just as confused as all of them.

Kakashi chuckled at them, "It's going to be five and a half months in a few days."

"Woah."

Sometimes the three of them lost track of how much time they've spent training and enjoying each other's company. From day one, they had started to get close by questioning Naruto's reasoning as to why he could become a gennin after failing as well as his medical prowess. And even when they were waiting for Kakashi to arrive to give their  _official_ gennin test, the three of them still conversed among themselves. Of course, it was Naruto who helped band them together by bringing his teammates something to eat before their exam so they wouldn't pass out or starve. Despite them refusing at first, Sasuke and Sakura complied afterward which led into a whole conversation between the three of them. Then, of course, the bell test in which Naruto helped rally them together to attempt – and utterly fail – at getting the bells from their teacher. However, they learned a valuable lesson in teamwork that they've stuck to.

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look before staring at their resident medic, smiles on their face. It seems that they'd both been thinking about the same thing. Naruto blinked at them a few times, missing the memo, "What? Do I have something on my face?" The pink-haired kunoichi laughed at the absurd question, slinging an arm around his shoulders. He sighed, his eyes holding amusement, "Man, I'm so confused right now."

Their client stepped back towards Kakashi as the three gennin started to talk with one another, laughing at Naruto's jumbled appearance. "How'd you get these," He waved his hand at the teenagers poking fun at their medic, "kids to band together like they have? They have personalities that would  _never_ work in a normal setting."

"Well, that's  _because_ they're not in a normal setting that they are such good friends." Kakashi gave the older man an eye-smile, "I hadn't even met them face-to-face when they were already starting to become close. Though, it wasn't until one of my tests that they really put aside all differences and worked together."

"But how'd they do it?" Tazuna questioned, honestly curious.

The Jonnin thought for a second before shrugging, "I'd put my money on Naruto." The two adults stared at the blond-haired medic for a few seconds, watching as the boy playfully glared at his other teammates who continued to keep him out of the dark. "He has this personality that just makes you want to be around him, to speak your mind. Plus, he's a medic so he's definitely reliable and trustworthy if something happened to you." Kakashi smiled at his cute little gennin, pride swelling in his chest, "Though, I do think Sakura and Sasuke had to have the initiative to work with someone like Naruto since he can be… all over the place."

The tanned man laughed aloud, getting a look from the Uchiha, "That definitely seems like him, well, from what I've heard and seen."

"Encyclopedia."

"Huh?"

Kakashi snickered, "Naruto's like an encyclopedia."

"I heard that!" The medic whipped his head around, amusement in his eyes.

"What? It should be considered a compliment!" His teacher winked – or would it be blinked since you can only see one of his eyes? – at the boy.

Sakura chuckled beside the blond-haired teenager, "Yeah! You know all these cool facts about medical stuff; definitely helps us in the long run."

The Uchiha – who'd stayed quiet for the last few minutes – piped up, turning towards the only girl on their team, "I bet he's got some weird fact about like… inhaling a  _pea_  or something."

"Well…" Naruto gave the two of them a sheepish look.

The pink-haired kunoichi's face fell, eyes wide, "Please tell me you don't  _actually_ have a fact about someone inhaling a pea."

"It may or may not have happened." He shrugged, "But since you told me  _not_  to tell you that I have a fact about that so…"

Silence overtook them for only a minute.

"That shouldn't even be possible." They heard Sasuke whisper, disbelief in his voice.

"How do you even  _inhale_ a pea?!" Sakura spoke, baffled by the mere thought about breathing in  _food_.

Naruto grinned, "Do you really want to know?"

His teammates glanced at each other, trying to balance out whether they  _really_ wanted to hear about the possibility of inhaling a pea. They ended up shrugging, staring their resident medic in the eye, " _Yes_!"

And so an explanation was given to a reluctant – but extremely curious – crowd.

It had been only a few hours after departing – and the crazy long answer to someone inhaling a pea – that they'd started to get bored with walking at a civilian's pace. The sun was every present in their walk. It beat down on them relentlessly but was not unpleasant in the least as there was a soothing breeze covering them from the west. A few of them commented on this, speaking to each other with relaxed voices and cheery eyes. Even Tazuna joined in on this, comparing Konohagakure's weather to that of the Land of Waves. Despite being in tune with the conversation, eyes barely flickered to the single puddle in the middle of the road up ahead of them. Warning signs flared up then, an understanding filtering between Team 7 as Tazuna kept talking about the climate of his land.

Sakura glanced at Naruto who gave the tiniest of nods. They were going to pass the puddle soon, she needed to act fast. Taking just a few more steps, her legs tangled together. The pink-haired kunoichi gave a startled shriek as she tripped herself. Heads whipped towards her as she fell only to have a tanned hand reach out and catch her. Large, green eyes peered up to stare at Tazuna who helped pull her to her feet. "A-Ah! Thank you, Tazuna-san!" She stuttered, hoping there was a bit of pink in her cheeks to really sell the act.

Their client rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands in his pockets grumpily, "Whatever. And I thought that ninjas were supposed to have better reflexes than  _this_."

She gave him a sheepish look, "I'm so sorry to have scared you."

"Scare me?" He gave her an incredulous look before scoffing slightly, "As if, clumsy girl."

"Sakura." There was a smooth voice beside Tazuna, the older man's eyes trailing down to glare at Naruto, "Are you alright? You look like you might have scraped your knee."

The pink-haired girl waved him off, "Oh, I'm fine, really."

"Positive?" His blue eyes held concern, nearly flickering to Sasuke's movements behind them.

"Of course, I am. I'm not a baby." Sakura laughed as the Uchiha finally took up his position behind them, "Maybe a little clumsy, but definitely  _not_ a baby."

Naruto raised his hands in surrender, "I wasn't saying that you were, I was just a little worried."

"It's only a scratch." She countered as Kakashi pulled out his perverted book, taking up the rear.

The group continued to talk about Sakura's clumsy behavior and Tazuna's bad attitude towards them, sometimes poking fun at each other. Even Sasuke joined in, really trying to sell the dumb act towards whoever they were to encounter up here. Kakashi mostly stayed to himself here, simply engrossing him in his pervy book that he'd read hundreds of times beforehand. They took calculated steps but it was only when they'd passed the single puddle.

The sounds of chains filled the group's ears, making the ring and disorient some. The gennins and Tazuna turned their heads toward Kakashi who'd been lagging behind, only to see him wrapped tightly with thick chains. His body bent in an odd way, eyes wide.

It had all happened so fast.

Blood spewed out from different directions, chunks of flesh and bones crumbling to the ground. Silver locks of hair floated down like feathers in the wind, drawing eyes to it. Sakura's initial reaction was to gasp for air she hadn't known she'd been holding, a scream stuck in her throat. There was panic in her heart and, for a few seconds, the pink-haired teenager had honestly believed that Kakashi was dead, that these unnamed enemies had just killed her teacher in front of her very eyes. However, her more logical mind told her that he was stronger than that and they'd also been expecting the arrival of the enemy. There was no way that he'd died.

Her other two teammates had been in a similar boat as well. Though he hadn't shown it on his face, Sasuke had internally freaked out for a few seconds because a world without Kakashi in it was something unimaginable for the Uchiha. He'd grown close to the older man over the last few months; he couldn't be dead. Naruto had a similar thought running rampant around his head. He knew that Kakashi was strong but he wasn't invisible; he's still human and humans make mistakes. After the boys' initial shock, they'd realized that their team had been expecting the attack so Kakashi was definitely prepared to be taken out first. They searched out his chakra, easily finding it off somewhere in the surrounding forest.

It was relieving.

"Stay here," Naruto stated calmly, voice directed towards Tazuna as he summoned a shadow clone. He watched as Sasuke pounced at the cloaked guy first. The man was still reeling back from his attack against Kakashi and did not see it coming.

"Sakura!" The black-haired boy called out, barely nodding towards his only female teammate.

She bobbed her head, "On it!" The kunoichi pulled out nearly a dozen kunai, some holding explosive tags, readying them for battle. The two cornered the caped man, Sasuke more in the man's personal space while Sakura provided needed support from a distance. She was closer to Naruto and their client but still within reach of her other teammate.

Sasuke reached for the man's chain, pulling on it to get his enemy closer. The chain having been connected to a contraption on the caped guy's wrist – pulled him forward, the momentum carrying him towards the Uchiha's raised fists. The older man was knocked backward, stumbling a little bit before ultimately being pulled back in for another hit. There was a shout from their second advisory behind Sasuke, heavy footsteps moving towards where Tazuna and Naruto were. The sound drew his attention a second too long as a long cut sliced at his right hand. He hissed in pain, fingers tingling at the sensation before hopping back towards where his other teammates were at.

Sakura stared worriedly at him, eyes hardening in her resolve, "I've got it!" Her light footsteps carried her, taking up a position directly behind him. Their backs brushed unconsciously before the two bounced off towards their enemies once more. She threw one of her tagged kunai, the lethal object landing in front of the shaggy-haired man's feet. His eyes were blown wide as he scrambled backward, not wishing to get blown up today. In any normal situation, Sakura would have snickered since the tagged kunai she used was a fake, used to only distract her enemy. However, she had a purpose for gaining this distraction. The pink-haired kunoichi turned towards Naruto, "Get Tazuna-san out of here, he'll only be in the way here."

"I'll do my best." The medic bowed his head slightly, hastily grabbing their client before hopping off into the forests depths. However, his shadow clone remained, hands glowing a soft – albeit menacing – blue. They sharpened ever-so-slightly as the clone stepped up to the rugged-looking man who tried to end their client's life.

Their enemies glanced at each other, frustration and anger evident in their eyes as the three gennin closed in on them. Sakura and Naruto's clone headed for Sasuke's position, laying down cover and protection for him as he readied a fireball jutsu. Despite every weakness the shadow clones possessed, the chakra scalpel  **(1)** provided very good defense, especially against those chains their advisories primarily used. Sakura's above average aim helped in keeping back their opponents so that they couldn't get close and hurt them. Sasuke held out his arms, pushing back his teammates as he flashed through recognizable signs. "Fire Release: Great Fireball!" The Uchiha shouted out, flames spewing out of his mouth. One of them cried out, pain in their voice.

Even though they were out of the fire's range, they were not out of a certain irritated Jonnin's range.

Kakashi appeared silently behind the two, hands chopping down against their necks. The men's bodies became heavy, eyes rolling to the back of their head, as they fell lifelessly to the ground. He slapped his hands together like he'd just sullied his hands with something awful – well, it wasn't very far from the truth. "Well, now that that's been taken care of." The silver-haired Jonnin mumbled, stepping over the two before walking over to his students, "You all did very well."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said bashfully.

The older man turned towards the clone, "You can go now and make sure tell Naruto that Sasuke's been injured." The clone's eyes widened a fraction of a second, glancing at his dark-haired teammate before bobbing his head and poofing away.

"You saw that?" Sasuke eventually questioned.

"Of course, I did." Kakashi stated, heading back over to the unconscious men, "I'm your teacher, I'm supposed to notice everything."

He rolled his eyes, "It's only a scratch. I can handle it."

The Jonnin peeked over his shoulder as he hauled their comatose enemies towards a tree, "Can you handle poison too?"

"What?"

"These two are known for lacing their weapons in poison, a very toxic and lethal poison." His words were calm with a tone of worry in there somewhere.

Sasuke could feel the sweat start to trail down the back of his neck, "I've been poisoned?"

"Possibly. There's a good chance of it but I'll have to let Naruto look you over before we go assuming anything." Kakashi said, wrapping a rope around his lifeless opponents.

Sakura looked her teammate over, worry clouding her eyes, "How serious do you think it is?"

He glanced at his two gennin before making his way back over to them, "There's no way to tell right now. It's a fresh cut and I'm not a doctor. I don't know many signs of poisoning."

Sasuke looked at the cut in his hand. While it wasn't deep, there was a chance of poisoning and that honestly terrified him to the bone. He had to keep living, had to do so in order to avenge his clan. He can't be taken down by something toxic, that would be a sucky way to go if you asked him. The Uchiha took a deep breath, "So we just wait?"

"We won't have to wait for long." Kakashi assured, "Naruto and Tazuna didn't go too far. They should be here any minute now."

"What if we just go to him?" Sakura suggested.

"I don't know much about poison but I do now that if you exert your body too much, you will become comatose." Their teacher stated, "Plus, we can't risk leaving since these two will be waking up soon." Three pairs of eyes stared at the two unconscious men before looking at each other once more.

A shiver ran up Sasuke's spine which was confusing since it was late spring and was a warm, sunny day. He didn't mention his train of thought and instead just took to sighing, "Think I'll survive?"

"What kind of question is that?!" Sakura growled out, fury and anxiety curling in her eyes, "Of course, you're going to survive! We have a super awesome medic and we don't even know if you're poisoned or not. Have a little hope."

He could have rolled his eyes but simply shrugged, "Whatever."

The brush to their right started to move. Heads turned just in time to see blond hair poke out from the tree line, a tanned man trailing behind him. Naruto blinked at them, leaving their client's side and speed walking over to his dark-haired teammate. He glanced at Kakashi, "Poison, right?"

"I'm pretty sure but there could be a chance that I'm wrong." The silver-haired Jonnin stated seriously.

Their medic nodded his eyes, a stern look in his eyes as Tazuna made his way to their side. "Sasuke," He started, "take off your right arm warmer." The Uchiha slid it off effortlessly, glancing up at his teammate. The top part of his forearm where the cut was located looked to be in good shape since the cut was not deep in the slightest though, it did extend pretty far down from his hand.

There was no sign of poisoning from what they could see.

The thought must have filled the other's mind since Sakura was glancing over Naruto's shoulder, "This means that he's good to go, right?" The medic merely shook his head, turning over Sasuke's arm to reveal dark and angry purple veins stretching down a good portion of the underside of his forearm. "Oh, Kami." The kunoichi clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Like I suspected," Naruto mumbled to himself.

"What does this mean?" Sasuke's hushed voice was barely heard but the hidden fear still lurked in those words.

"Our opponents most likely used a type of venom or some toxic plant to make an effective poison like this. I've only ever seen something to this extent twice in the hospital since poisoning isn't as common as you'd think." He rambled, "I need a secure location to remove the poison completely and, from what we've all just witnessed,  _this_ is not secure enough to perform a poison extraction."

Kakashi placed a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze, "Is there anything you can give him to cure it?"

"No," Hope seemed to die in Sasuke's eyes, "but I can give him something to slow it down."

"Like what?" Sakura questioned quietly.

"I need to prevent it from ever reaching his heart. Since the poison was introduced to his right hand, it'll take a little longer to get there since a person's heart is on the left side of their body. However, this is a fast-acting poison." Their resident medic explained, dropping his travel bag and pulling out a small bottle with some strange liquid inside.

Sasuke glanced at it as Naruto pulled out a very long syringe, "What's that going to do?"

"This," He waved the syringe and bottle in the air, "is what is going to help you in the long run. It is an antibiotic that is given to medics in case of poisoning on the battlefield. It can help to slow down most toxics long enough to do a proper poison extraction. We're lucky that our opponents used a common poison." Naruto grabbed a pair of gloves as to not contaminate his teammate with any unwanted bacteria. He pulled them on effortlessly, grabbing an antiseptic wipe. Quickly tearing off the packaging, he wiped the cool tissue against the antecubital space  **(2)**  of Sasuke's arm. Without missing a beat, the blond-haired teenager poked the syringe into the bottle, slowly drawing out the liquid until it was secured into the syringe. He flicked it with his fingers for a few seconds until he had deemed it clear. A firm hand gripped Sasuke's arm, straightening it out for easier access. Naruto glanced up at his teammate, "It will sting for only a second or two, nothing to worry about."

Before the needle had even touched Sasuke's skin, the Uchiha jerked backward, hands trembling slightly. "S-Sorry." He mumbled, "I'll try to be still."

The medic stopped for a second, "Sasuke."

"Hm?"

"Are you afraid of needles?" He questioned.

There was a defeated look in his eyes, "Only a little bit. I promise I'll stay still this time."

"It's fine." Naruto gave him a warm smile, "I'll just talk to you while I'm doing it, try to distract you."

"Alright."

"From the information, I got from my clone, you and Sakura were slaying it out there." He chuckled, repositioning his teammate's arm, "All that training you two have been doing makes me a little envious."

Sasuke shook his head, "No, that was all Sakura. I've never seen her do that."

Seeing her chance to join in and help her anxious friend out, she grinned, "No way, you're the one who taught me how to throw multiple weapons at one time. Plus, I wouldn't have gotten that idea for the fake tagged kunai if you hadn't used it on me when we were sparring."

"See, all her." The Uchiha fought back, the conversation working for him. The needle pressed into his antecubital space, oddly warm liquid spreading through his veins at an excruciating pace. Sasuke could feel his heart rate start to go a little wild, a small hiss leaving his mouth.

"Sorry about that." Naruto gave him a sympathetically smile, "I should have told you that it was going to sting a little bit." He withdrew the needle almost as fast as he'd inserted it. The teenager pulled out gaze and medical tape, placing the two over the spot his syringe just left. "That should help you for now but you don't need to be on your feet for a while, not until I can properly extract the poison." He stood up, "Until we start moving again, just sit still for a while. Let me know if you feel feverish or nauseous."

Sasuke nodded, "I understand." He leaned against a tree, staring at the winding pathways the poison took. His heart was still hammering in his chest but he knew that he was in good, capable hands. Naruto wouldn't let anything happen to him.

Naruto peels off his gloves and grabs everything he used to treat his teammate before placing them in a medical waste pocket of his traveling bag. Afterward, he stepped off to the side, ushering for the other members of his team to follow him. He turned towards Kakashi, "How long will it take to get to the Land of Waves?"

"Another four or five hours." The silver-haired Jonnin replied.

"That's cutting it really close." The medic grumbled out, a concerned look gracing his features, "We may have just enough time to get to a safe place for a poison extraction but Sasuke will be pretty out of it for a while."

"Is there anything we can do?" Sakura whispered out, green eyes clouded with anxiety.

He shook his head, arms crossed over his chest, "Maybe not you, but I've got to make sure that he's not going exert himself which is going to be difficult since we've already seen that someone is out for our blood."

The only female in Team 7 shuffled, "So, what then?"

"When we start moving again, I'm going to summon a shadow clone to carry Sasuke so that he can't put himself in harm's way." Naruto stated, "Should we come across any other enemies, I want Sasuke to stay back with Tazuna-san at least until I can get that toxic out of his system."

"Alright." Kakashi straightened his shoulders, "Before we leave, I have a thing or two to discuss with our client." As he turned towards the tanned man, he could feel his blood pressure start to rise just a little bit, "Tazuna." With the honorifics dropped, the Jonnin's students could tell that he was serious.

"W-What is it…?!" The tanned man stammered out, glancing at the ninja that were to protect him. It was almost as if he could  _feel_ the seriousness clouding the Jonnin's eyes.

"I believe that we have something to talk to you about." He stated with a calm, monotone voice.

Tazuna nodded his head dumbly, "Hm?"

"These two men we've captured today are chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. These guys are ninjas known for continuing to fight no matter what the sacrifice, known in the bingo book as the Demon Brothers." Kakashi said, poking one of the men with his shoe for emphasis.

"If they were so dangerous," Tazuna found himself speaking, "why'd you leave it to the kids to fight?"

"If I felt like it, I could have killed these two instantaneously but," He gave a hard glare towards his older client, "I had to know who their target was."

"W-What?"

"They were obviously lying in wait for our group to cross their paths today. The Demon Brothers were easily detectable as there wouldn't be any puddles of water on a clear day like today when it hadn't rained for days." He stated, taking a few steps to lean over Tazuna."

"What do you mean?"

"In other words, what I mean is I had to know if it was you, or one of us shinobi who was being targeted. We haven't heard anything about you being prey for ninjas. The content of this request was supposed to just be protection from gangs, thieves, and the likes of." There was a sharpness to his words, making Tazuna's knees feel quaky, "This is a mission with a B-rank or higher. The demand was supposed to be for backup until you finished building your bridge. If our enemies were to be ninjas, the mission would've been estimated without question as an expensive B-ranked mission."

There was a hand on his forearm that stopped him from continuing his assault on the civilian man. Kakashi glanced down to see Sakura who smiled up at him. "I understand that relaying false information to get his request approved but it also appears there's a good reason for this."

"Sakura, this is beyond the scope of our mission." He said, voice losing its edge as he spoke to his student.

"Kakashi-sensei, with all due respect, our team is one of the more advanced of our graduating year." Sasuke crossed his arms in defense from the tree he was laying on.

Naruto nodded his head once, glancing at the Uchiha who look a little more red in the face than before, "I'm sure that we can handle a mission higher that C-ranked. You're a seasoned Jonnin with a lot of experience in these kinds of missions, I'm a medic with abilities that can help in wide-spread attacks as well as healing people when they're down, Sakura's an aspiring sharpshooter with an intelligent mind, and Sasuke is a genius with a jutsu prowess so unlike the other gennin."

"Yeah!" Sakura cheered in excitement, "We can do this, Kakashi-sensei."

"I don't think that it's wise for new gennins to get something closer to a B-ranked or A-ranked mission as their first out-of-Konoha-experience." Kakashi stated, "I know I can protect you from anything but your lives could be in severe danger."

"We have Naruto." The Uchiha pointed out, rolling his eyes, "He can heal any of us if we're hurt like he did with my hand."

The silver-haired man glanced at the three of them. If Hiruzen could see them right now, he'd swear that there was a smoldering Will of Fire somewhere in there, burning in the hearts of the youth.  _"What'd I do to deserve such loyal and smart gennins?"_ Kakashi questioned himself before finally nodding, "Fine, but you all must promise to be on your toes."

"Yes, sir!"

The Jonnin turned his attention towards his client, "Alright, Tazuna-san, we'll finish the mission out. However, if you  _ever_ put  _my_  kids in danger by keeping valuable information from us again, we will leave you here to crumble. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely," Tazuna said, giving them a grateful smile.

And so he told the ninja of what has been transpiring in his village for the last few years, continuing to the Land of Waves.

* * *

 **1.** _"…the chakra scalpel…"_  This is what Naruto's 'glowing-blue-hands' technique is called for those who are confused. I didn't use the exact term much in the beginning – after introducing it, of course – but I realize now that it could have caused undesired confusion.

 **2.** _"…the antecubital space…"_  If you've ever had blood drawn or been injected with a needle, you know exactly where this spot on the body is located. However, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, this is the inside of your elbow. I'd like to thank my mother – a medical assistance or M.A. – for giving me this word.


	21. Growth of Worry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not like this chapter one bit. It doesn't flow properly and it feels too much like a filler chapter; it's pretty short too, only a little over 3,000 words. It's a let-down from the last chapter. There isn't much to say other than have fun reading the chapter, I guess. Also, the link below is for those who want to know my research for 'The Great Medic'. I've had to pull a lot of things out because it'll be a spoiler for the chapters coming up, but there is a whole section on poisoning on there. Have fun, everyone.
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aTU647_EbY67HSCxLzdS6Az_D7NhrkJ3xQdvx-ph8TM/edit?usp=sharing
> 
> P.S. – Tell me if the link is not working for you so I can get that fixed.

Sasuke feels a little dazed, almost too out of it to really notice his teammates walking up to him. Naruto squats in front of him, pulling out a small flashlight, "Don't move okay, and keep your eyes open for a second or two." The Uchiha gave a slow nod as the medic clicked the flashlight on, swatting it between his two eyes. It burned and made his eyebrows furrow together but just before he could even think to complain, the blond-haired gennin turned it off. He gave a small smile, "Your eyes are dilating perfectly; you're still in the clear, Sasuke."

"I'm not going to die?" He raised an eyebrow, eyes holding a small bout of amusement.

Naruto gave a half-hearted chuckle, smacking his shoulder, "Of course not; I refuse to let anyone die under my watch." The teenager stood, holding out a tanned hand for his teammate. "Come on, we have to get moving." He stated.

"Alright." Sasuke nodded noticing that his brain was starting to feel slightly muddy as he took the other boy's hand. Their resident medic hauled him up effortlessly, already starting to mouth of something in medical terms. The Uchiha wasn't paying attention, glancing at Sakura, seeing her worried eyes staring at him. He gave her a soft smile, mouthing,  _"I'm fine."_

Sakura took a deep breath before bobbing her head a few times, reassuring herself that he was indeed alright. She turned towards the blond beside her, "Shall we be going now?"

"Not yet," Naruto stated, getting a rather annoyed look from the only female on their team.

"And why not?" She questioned, voice hard and disagreeing.

He didn't answer immediately, hands flying against each other in quick succession as a clone poofed into existence. "Sasuke," He turned towards the other boy, hand on his hip, "I can't allow you to exert any more energy so, my clone here will be carrying you."

"What?"

The clone blinked owlishly at the Uchiha, "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah." The two waited for his reasoning, getting an eye roll from him, "I'm  _not_ getting carried."

"Sasuke-" The pink-haired kunoichi began, only stopping when Team 7's resident medic raised his hand in the air.

Naruto's face fell into a frown, eyebrows drew closer together, "Sasuke, I am only going to be saying this once so you better listen." The dark-haired teenager looked taken back by the sudden change of voice. "You were  _poisoned_. You are in no condition to be walking for hours on end. As a medic – as your  _friend_ – I suggest that you let my clone carry you or so help me I'll carry you myself." He stated firmly.

Sasuke looked at the ground, wanting to grind his teeth in anger. He'd rather walk on his own than to be carried for hours – give his dignity some peace of mind – but Naruto just pulled the  _'friend-card'_  and that always had a soft spot in his heart. The Uchiha sighed, feeling defeated, "Fine."

Naruto's face broke out into a grin, "Perfect and don't be afraid to sleep at all. If anything, it'd be good for your body. Sleep helps your mind worry about the irregular patterns inside of you as well as conserving your energy and-"

"Naruto." Kakashi's voice broke through his stupor, "As much as I love a science lesson, we need to start moving again."

"Right, right." The medic took a breath, turning to his clone, "Hop to it, kiddo."

"Yes, sir!" The clone hummed as he squatted in front of Sasuke.

The dark-haired gennin gave his teammates a strange look, "This is so weird." He grumbled to himself for a few seconds before willing himself to climb onto the clone's back.

"Alright, boss, we're all set." They  **(1)** grinned, shifting Sasuke slightly to make sure that he wouldn't be uncomfortable during their trip.

The group nodded collectively, grabbing their bags and starting to walk again. Naruto stayed in the back behind his clone and Sasuke, making sure that he'd have an eye on his teammate at all times. Tazuna was near the front with Kakashi, talking about the Land of Waves and what had been going on there in the past. As for Sakura, well, she's been quiet since her crush's poisoning. No one could blame her; they had a close-knit team and if one of them was hurting, they were  _all_  feeling their pain.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" The young Uchiha questioned quietly, trying not to feel so uncomfortable on the clone's back; this was still so  _weird_.

The blonde's manifestation of chakra looked over their shoulder to stare into their teammate's eyes for a few seconds before glancing away, "Yeah, just relax and rest for as long as you can. Boss-man will make sure that nothing happens to you."

" _Naruto's not going to let me die."_ Sasuke mused to himself, trying to make his panicked heart see his logic.

"Hey." There was a soft voice from beside him.

He glanced down, seeing Naruto staring at him, "Yeah?"

"I need you to be honest with me right now." Team 7's medic stated, seriousness in his voice, "Are you feeling alright? You're not queasy at all? No headaches? Hurting anywhere?"

"I…" Sasuke stopped himself from answering right away, thinking for a few seconds. He could lie, could say that he's feeling fine but this was a life-or-death situation and he had to keep living, had to avenge his clan. His ambition would die with him if he kept quiet. However, Sasuke couldn't just push his ego out of the way; it was always one of the hardest things an Uchiha could do.

"You can tell me." Naruto whispered, eyes silently begging for the information, "I can't help you if you don't tell me."

The black-haired gennin laid his head on the clone's shoulder, eyes leveling as he continued to search his teammate's eyes. "I feel out-of-it, almost tired but too awake to sleep. I think I have a headache coming along; there's a pressure right here," He tapped his temple, sighing quietly, "and it's starting to get annoying."

"But you're not nauseous?" He questioned.

"No."

The newly-instated medic nodded, smiling and laying a hand on the dark-haired gennin's back, "You should try to get some rest for now, even if it's only for an hour or so."

Sasuke nodded in understanding, "Thanks… for all of this."

"I haven't really done anything yet. Maybe you should thank me later when I get that poison out of your system." Naruto smiled warmly, slowing down so he could continue to walk behind the two.

"Boss-man cares about all of you." The clone grinned, voice quiet and soft, "He doesn't say it often but you're like family to him."

A warm feeling spread inside Sasuke's chest and he hums in content, "You know he's going to have a bitch-fit about you telling me this when you disappear right?"

"Nothing he can do about it." They chuckled, "Now, sleep or I'll just knock you out myself."

"Whatever you say." He rolled his eyes, wincing from the action; a headache's coming for him.

The clone glanced behind them, seeing that their summoner had pulled out a notebook and was frantically scribbling in it.  _"I promise Sasuke, Boss-man will do the best he can."_ They thought to themselves, turning back around.

Naruto could feel frustration creeping into his soul – a familiar feeling, really. He used to get it all the time when he was working on formulas for his medicinal soldier pills or when he'd tried to make something to help Lee and Guy but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to like it. In all honesty, the medic couldn't really pinpoint what  _exactly_ Sasuke had been poisoned with. There wasn't a specific indicator of the physical symptoms as to what it could be. The purple veins, the inflammation of the skin, the fatigue, drowsiness; these were common symptoms of a venom or plant-based poison.

But which one could it be?

Both must be treated differently.

If it was a venom-based toxin, there would be a very high chance of something very lethal running through Sasuke's veins; anyone who uses poisons as a weapon would use something life-threatening. One of the only ways to combat the poison from poisonous creatures – whether it be from reptilian origins or from a bug of some sorts – he would need to find them and extract a sample of their venom. From there, Naruto would need to make an antivenin but that could take hours and he's almost positive that Sasuke doesn't have that amount of time.

If it was a plant-based poison, Naruto would have more time to operate but – depending on the species of plant – it could still be deadly when in contact with human tissues. Most toxic plants have to be ingested in order for it to do any  _real_ damage so that rules out quite a few. However, there are hundreds of  _thousands_  of different plants species out in the world; Sasuke could have been poisoned from any of them. Naruto's a medical encyclopedia, not a nature encyclopedia, he'd have no idea where to start. There is no way to truly know what to do with a plant-based poison.

He'd only ever seen a poisoning twice, only ever allowed to assist in one of the less severe poisonings; this is  _so_  out of his element.

The medic took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves,  _"Alright, Naruto, remember what Dr. Terra taught you. Take note of the symptoms, narrow it down and go from there. It's easy, you can do it."_

' _Symptoms:_

_Drowsy, inflammation surrounding the wound…'_

Naruto glanced up, seeing Sasuke quietly snoozing against the silent clone, hands dangling loosely around their neck.

"… _fatigue…'_

The teenager stared at the page, looking over the few words he'd written. In bold lettering, the word  **'** _ **MILD**_ **'**  hovered diagonally over the symptoms. After a second or two, Naruto glanced at the sun's position, estimating it to be nearing two o'clock in the afternoon. He wrote down the time for reference, glancing up once more.

Sakura had moved closer to Kakashi and was quietly conversing with him. Her body language suggested that she was worried, back tense as well as her shoulders riding close to her neck. She had her arms surrounding her lower abdomen, hands twitching in anxiety. Their teacher laid a hand on her shoulder, voice low but filled with hopeful words. Tazuna put his two cents in every now and then but stayed pretty quiet during their conversation, guilt wafting off him in waves.

He went to look back at his notebook,  _"These are very early signs of poisoning."_ Naruto gave a deep sigh, scribbling down the phrase  _'symptoms could get worse if left untreated'_  underneath the small bout of text on the page. After a second or two, the medic wrote something about not being able to differentiate between venom-based or plant-based poisons. "Hey, Tazuna-san." The gennin's voice startled the mostly quiet group.

"Yeah?" The older man responded, twisting his head to stare at the teenager.

"Do you have any poisonous animals or plants in the Land of Waves?" He questioned, peeking up from his notebook.

"Hm…" Their client thought for a second, "We have three different types of snakes, an invasive poison dart frog species, and a few non-lethal plants. Think you might have found what poisoned Sasuke?" The words raised a few eyebrows and a hopeful eye from Sakura.

"Well, not exactly but I'm trying to narrow down as much as I can." Naruto bit his lip slightly, "What are those venomous species you mentioned?"

"Oh… um… we have a Cottonmouth but its numbers have been dwindling the last few years. We also have a Habu and a Mamushi." Tazuna stated, seeing the distressed look on his face, "What is it?"

He sighed, looking at his opened notebook. shutting the notebook quietly. The medic rubbed his temple in sudden thought, "Kakashi-sensei, where were the Demon Brothers from?"

"The bingo book says that they were born in a village not far from the Land of Waves." The silver-haired Jonnin stated.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered out, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

He started to write down different things, the three snake species' names scribbled on the page. His teammates gave each other a look but refrained from asking any further questions. Their medic needed time to work through this, time that was starting to run out.

Naruto bites his lip in thought,  _"I'm the only one capable of helping Sasuke. I can't let them down. If I do, Sasuke will die… and it'll be all my fault."_

After about an hour, Sakura insisted that the group stop. Sasuke had started to look a little rough around the edges and despite Naruto assuring her that these were all common symptoms of poisoning, the kunoichi begged for them to stop for a little break. Kakashi didn't have the heart in him to tell her no, not when she was looked so worried.

"Alright, we'll stop for ten minutes or so, but after that, we keep moving." He stated, "This area still isn't safe."

The blond-haired medic sighed but didn't hold it against his teammate; Sakura hadn't ever been exposed to something like this and it happened to her long-time crush. "I'll check up on him," Naruto said, his clone wordlessly laying the snoozing gennin against a tree. He placed a cool hand on Sasuke's forehead, a sleepy hum of content coming from the teenager. The medic furrowed his eyebrows, sending a pulse of chakra into his hands for a more in-depth observation.

"How is he?" Sakura whispered from behind him.

"Feverish." He mumbled out, moving his hand towards the boy's wound, "It is lingering in his bloodstream but has not come into contact with his heart. The poison is being centralized in his forearm and is moving slowly. The temporary cure  **(2)**  is working but at a sluggish rate. He should be fine in a few hours and rest will help him."

"And if it doesn't?" She questioned, voice quiet and unsure.

He pulled away from Sasuke, looking over his shoulder, "I'm sure it won't come to that, Sakura."

The kunoichi held a firm face, eyebrows furrowing together, "Humor me then."

Naruto heaved a sigh, standing up from the ground to stare her in the eye, "If the poison continues to spread, it will lead back to his heart. The poison will follow his bloodstream to every major organ until it results in complete organ failure. If it comes to that, there would be no stopping the poison from killing Sasuke."

She nodded numbly, "A… Alright."

"Come here." He held his arms out, the girl walking into them without question. Naruto pet her hair soothingly, hearing out all her worries without batting an eye. Sometimes he thanks the hospital for showing him how to be compassionate and caring for the concerned family of some of his patients; Sakura was no exception now. "He'll be okay." The medic stated.

Sakura stiffened in his arms, "Can you… Can you promise me that he'll be okay?"

Naruto froze, mulling over his words carefully, "I'll do my best."

"You promise?"

He looked down at the ground, pulling away from her, "Sakura, as a medic, I cannot promise anything. I can only say that I'm going to do my very best to make sure that Sasuke gets better."

The kunoichi hugged herself, looking away, "Okay… we should probably get moving now."

"Sakura…" He wasn't sure what to say, watching her walk over to her bag, "I won't let him die."

"I know," Kakashi's voice came from behind him, giving his student a warm eye-smile, "that's why I'm not worried."

Tazuna was standing beside his teacher, giving a smile of his own to the medic, "You know your stuff, kid, I bet this is like a walk-in-the-park for you."

" _I wish."_  Naruto thought grumpily but hid his resentment with a nod, "We should be going now."

"I've got Sasuke." The clone called out, heading over to the snoozing gennin. He secured the dark-haired boy on his back, beaming up at his summoner.

And so, they started back on their journey, worry clouding their hearts and mudding their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. "They…" I had a few people ask me why I use 'they' when addressing Naruto's clones and I really couldn't give you a clear answer. I sort of see them as nonbinary despite them being clones of Naruto who is male. I just think it's easier to read and differentiate Naruto from his clones when I chose to use 'they/them/their' instead of 'he/him/his'.
> 
> 2\. "The temporary cure…" This is just a name given for that antibiotic that Naruto injected into Sasuke in the previous chapter that helped to slow the poisoning.


	22. Hopeless in Hoping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't really been happy with the chapters I'm posting but I probably won't for a while. Maybe I'll come back to them one day and say 'Damn, I did a good job, didn't I?' However, until then, I'm just going to shit on my work for a little while longer. I don't mean to be such a downer but the saying goes that a writer's worse critic is the author themselves; true words, really… don't know who said them, probably some nobody like me. I hope you enjoy this chapter, more so than I had writing it.
> 
> P.S – I have exams in about week or two and I've got to start cracking down on my studying. Chapters for, well, anything probably won't come around for a while. Sorry for the inconvenience but school comes first… I guess.

 

It was mid-day, closer to three in the afternoon; dinner would be soon, Hiruzen mused. The office was quiet after Team 7 had left all those hours ago, paperwork done for the day. His heart still felt heavy from his talk with Kakashi, aching uncomfortably in his chest. There was a decision hanging over his head, pulling at his heartstrings and playing with his thought process. It was almost overwhelming, the life of a child in his hands once more… his blood-stained hands.

The Uchiha's deaths all those years ago were as much his fault as they were for the one who murdered them.

The Third Hokage took a shaky breath, staring out the window behind his desk, eyes glassy. There were days when he wished he hadn't been a child with dreams, dreams of following his heroes up the tower of power and strength. He wished that he hadn't been the one to pick up the pieces of a broken village in need of a new leader after the Fourth Hokage's passing that fateful night. Had he not, Danzō would've been running this village into the ground. There were days when the old man wished that people didn't rely so heavily on him, applying pressure to pick between who survived and who's life had to be sacrificed for that cause.

It was one of those days.

Hiruzen glanced down at his wrinkled, calloused hands that quivered without stop. He stopped for a moment, watching them reach into one of the lower drawers for his tobacco pipe. The slid of the creaky wooden drawer sounded off in the silent room as the pipe settled in his palms. The Third Hokage stared at it for a few seconds, turning the old wood around in his hands for a better look. As he continued to look, Naruto starts to come to mind.

The boy's voice of reason filled his ears, calculating eyes piercing his soul,  _"…there are over 4,800 chemicals inside of a single cigarette, 69 of these chemicals known to cause cancer. Do you seriously want to take that chance? Hm?"_ It'd only be a puff or two, anything to dispel the shakiness in his hands and the fear in his poor, old heart; he doesn't need this right now _. "Hey, if you're going to smoke, then I'm going to tell you all the disadvantages of smoking!"_ It wouldn't be a big deal, Hiruzen tried, glaring holes into the pipe, turning it over once more.

" _You could have a serious illness that you don't even know about, Jiji…"_ But, the thing is, Hiruzen's been ill for quite some time.  _"You could have cancer…"_ It's nothing physical, Naruto, but there is a disease running through the scars embedded in his head. It is the sickness of times, of old age and old age brings forth some wisdom that is left buried in the depths of one's blackened heart. And wisdom pushes one to terrible decisions, for the good of a village and the downfall of a child's heart.

" _I'm aware of the risks, Naruto."_ The older man told his voice of reason, words not carrying the same authority as it might with others in his life.

" _Well, apparently not because…"_ Naruto spoke with a hint of malice, voice deepening into something more related to Kakashi's, " _Surely one of them can take his spot."_ It has never been that simple, it never was. In his head, Hiruzen could almost see the former ANBU member slam his hands on the table in anger and defeat.  _"There is a good chance that Naruto could have severe chakra exhaustion from creating so many shadow clones that have to use all his chakra healing people."_ The words of 'he could die' were left unspoken at the time but the Hokage heard it all too well.

Hiruzen's hand twitched again, nostrils flaring at the sudden amount of emotion taking a hold of his elder heart. He gave shaky breaths, trying to will the frustrated tears from spilling over his eyelids. He wants to say that there is another way, that there is something he can do to prevent this but the odds are good.  _"We really are in a bind, aren't we?"_ Kakashi voiced out, the choked laughter from before gone with the memory, only filled with a sorrowful cry for his student's fate. The older man held the pipe to his lips, shutting his eyes; he wants to quit so badly.

 _"Then stop wanting to smoke."_ The young medic's voice of reason whispered out, the words comforting but filled with dread.

" _It's not that simple, Naruto."_ Hiruzen found himself recalling having said the same thing to the boy.

He could see those piercing blue eyes once more, could see the pain in them and the hurt,  _"Do you even want to quit?"_

"Yes." A choked sob left him, tears sliding down Hiruzen's cheek, the salty liquid making a line down his olden features. The tobacco pipe tumbled on his desk as a hand came to cover his eyes in regret and anguish. He has never wanted to prevent something as big as this, not once in his life. There were moments that had come close but he knew that the consequences were the best course of actions for the village. However, the older man could never bring himself to ask Naruto to save the village because he's the only one who'd be able to help them all, be its last defense in the upcoming war. He could  _never_  do it, yet…

" _When will Naruto learn that not everyone can be saved."_ His own thought process came to bite at his already battered mind, drawing another sob out of him.

He could see Kakashi throwing something in his mind, face livid,  _"Naruto is just a kid; he's young, so very young!"_ Hiruzen can't do that to him, can't make him save the village. He can't bring himself to sacrifice the village's sun for the darkness that shadows over them as their time runs out.

" _He could very well be traumatized…"_ The medic's teacher shouted at him,  _"The shock of Konoha being attacked… the cries of injured civilians… Naruto is just a kid."_ The words followed a repetition of regret and misplaced ideals. _"…couldn't Dr. Terra, Dr. Yiruma, or Dr. Chakochi take Naruto's place?"_ Kakashi whispered harshly at him.

Hiruzen wants to nod his head, say that  _yes,_ one of those three can take Naruto's place with a certainty of success.

" _I'm telling Dr. Terra… lower the risks… talk to Dr. Chakochi and ask her opinion…"_ The boy's voice was broken in his head, his once intelligent words just muddied.

There was a knock on his office door, pulling him from his thoughts. The Third Hokage quickly whipped his tears, turning towards the window so no one could see his tear-tracks. "Come in." He called out, loud enough for those outside to hear but just soft enough not to rattle his bruised thought process. The door clicked open, people shuffling in; he could tell who was there from just their chakra.

"Hiruzen?" An older feminine voice questioned, stepping forward, "Are you alright?"

"I am afraid not." There was something in his voice that made his two advisors stiffen, glancing at each other, "I am having a difficult time deciding on a life-or-death situation, Koharu, and I need guidance."

"What is it that you need from Homura and me?" Elder eyes were firm in inquiry, mind scouring for anything that could possibly help her former teammate and long-term friend.

"It's about Naruto," Hiruzen stated turning his seat around to stare at them.

"I see." Homura rolled his eyes, arms crossing over his chest, "What has he gone and done now?"

The Sarutobi man gave him a shocked, curious look. "Naruto hasn't  _done_ anything." He hadn't meant for the malice to seep into his voice but it came out that way.

"A first, really." His former teammate mocked.

The Third Hokage gave his advisor a dangerous look, "Homura, when was the last time you heard anything malevolent about Naruto? And what was it?"

His former teammate thought for a few seconds, "He accidentally set fire to a shop from a firework prank."

Hiruzen leveled his eyes, "And how long ago was that?"

"I'm not sure, probably recently though." Homura gave a half-shrug.

"Get out." A single, bony finger pointed towards the door.

"W-What?"

He crossed his arms, "Do not make me repeat myself. You are no longer needed in this meeting."

"Hiruzen-"

"No, your biased comments towards one of the best medics in this village who has saved thousands of lives in the last few years since he gave up his pranking ideology will no longer be needed." He leaned forward in his seat, "Shall anything come up about Naruto again, I'll call Koharu instead."

Homura gave him an exasperated look, "Sir, if I may-"

"You may not. Now, please  _leave_." Hiruzen waved a hand, "And make sure to shut the door behind you."

Koharu gave her former teammate a look, eyes shifting towards the door. The older man huffed indigently, stalking out of the room without another word. Her eyes followed him out before turning back to the Hokage, "What has happened with Naruto?"

"Nothing has happened  _to_  him, it's rather what  _might_  happen to him in the future." Hiruzen hadn't meant to be so cryptic but the topic at hand was rather tense, "There has been hushed talk between our officials about a potential attack from Suna and Oto in the coming months sometime around the Chunnin exams."

"Yes, the idea of a war breaking out in our walls is rather scary." She nodded in understanding, "The repercussions from it would be disastrous… the lives that could be lost. But what does Naruto have to do with that?"

He was quiet for a while before sighing, "Do you remember how Naruto saved your life after you had a heart attack a few months ago?"

"How could I forget?" Koharu smiled slightly, fiddling with her dress in memory, "He was the only one around when it happened and I am forever in his debt, especially since he stayed quiet about it; wouldn't want others to think that I'm not capable of my job?"

Hiruzen gave her a pained grin, "Yes, he's rather extraordinary and with his medical prowess… anything is possible."

"But…?"

"Naruto is probably the only one capable of healing  _hundreds_  and  _hundreds_  of people should the village be attacked during the Chunnin exams." He looked at his desk in shame, "With his multi-shadow clone jutsu, anything is possible…"

"That's why you're asking for my help." Koharu sighed out, taking a seat on the couch to ease her old legs. She thought for a moment, letting the silence between them help her think. "He just turned fourteen, right?" A nod came her way, "That's so young."

"Kakashi said something similar." Hiruzen stated, mind going back to the Jonnin teacher's words, chest clenching down in memory,  _"Naruto is just a kid; he's young, so very young."_

"And you wouldn't be asking for my opinion if there wasn't a single person who could take his place." Koharu mumbled out, "Well, except Tsunade but we both know that she won't  _ever_  come back to Konoha. If she did then I'd think the world was ending."

He gave her a grim smile at the poorly placed joke. "I don't want to make him do this, I don't want to have to put the world on his shoulders… he might just crumble under the pressure." Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, "With possible chakra exhaustion, shock, or trauma… I don't want to put Naruto through that."

"You know as well as I do that sometimes you have to sacrifice the little guy for the sake of the village." Koharu said, eyes looking watery; she'd grown attached to the young medic after he saved her life, "It happened with Itachi…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

"But Itachi is still alive, somewhere out there." The old Hokage looked out the windows, eyes looking distance, shoulders tensing, "This could  _kill_ Naruto."

"I know but… he's strong a-and… and so  _smart_ , I think he'd know his limitations." She suggested, voice wavering, "He  _has_  to."

He shook his head, his own olden eyes watering, "No, Naruto loves the village and would die before he let anyone down. If I told him right now that he needed to save the village and heal  _every single person_ , he'd do it without a question… a sad thought, really. He would use every ounce of chakra in his body."

Koharu clasped her shaky hands together, "Hiruzen unless you get Tsunade in the village before the Chunnin exams, Naruto will  _have to_ be used. I'm sorry..."

Hiruzen gave his advisor a sorrowful look, "I know, but… thank you for your words, however, there are still a few more people I must speak with before I make my verdict."

"Those three are going to give you hell, I hope you know that." Koharu took a deep breath, already standing to leave, "I wish I could say 'take your time' but there isn't much  _time_ left."

"I know… I  _know."_  He watched her leave before letting his tears fall once more, Naruto's words coming back to haunt him while Kakashi's simply cut into him, piece by piece.

A decision was hanging over his head, a child's life in his hands again.

* * *

It had been a little over two hours since Team 7 had left the Demon Brothers after the poisoning incident. They had kept continuing their journey with hope in their heats but things were not looking up for the small group. Sasuke, who was properly secured on the back of their medic's clone, was started to look worse and worse as they walked on. He was starting to sweat but still insisted that he was cold, a clear sign of a fever. Naruto had taken his temperature thirty or so minutes ago and it was only up a degree or two, nothing to worry about… for now. There was a glazed look over the Uchiha's eyes as the energy was slowly being drained from him. It was worrying for everyone, especially their resident medic who continued to rack his almost genius brain as to what his teammate had been poisoned with. He was running through all the possibilities, anything that could help Sasuke out. There were a few theories that seemed plausible but he wasn't going to risk it.

The notebook was back out, words being written down only to be scratched out with a hast and a heavy sigh. The other members of Team 7 did not question as to what Naruto was writing because they didn't want to risk the teenager losing his train of thought. Often throughout the process, the blond-haired gennin would stare at Sasuke who was trying to fight his fatigue, a passing cough on his lips. Naruto tried to gauge the Uchiha's physical symptoms as much as he could before going back to the notebook.

"Boss." The clone hummed out, drawing the attention of their summoner.

"Is there something wrong?" Naruto blinked, pocketing the notebook before catching up with them.

They shook their head, eyes going back to the trail ahead of them, "No, sir. I was just wondering what's going on in your head."

A heavy sigh came from the other, looking down at Sasuke who's eyes had slid shut. Despite his cheeks being fired from his fever, the Uchiha looked pale and sickly. Naruto lowered his voice, "It's not looking good… I can't figure it out."

The clone didn't even need to know what  _it_ was, simply nodding his head. They shifted Sasuke up a little more before speaking again, "Need someone to bounce theories off?"

"I doubt it'd do anything as we're kind of the same person." Naruto chuckled half-heartedly.

"Wouldn't hurt to try." They shrugged.

"Fine… where to even start?" He mumbled, more to himself than his clone, "…I'm starting to think that this is more of a snake poisoning rather than a plant one like I had originally suspected."

The clone bobbed their head, "I've kind of been thinking the same thing. People are almost always immune to the first contact with toxic plant substances through skin contact; it's the time after that that people can start to see symptoms of poisoning."

"Exactly." Naruto huffed in exasperation, "And most of those plant species cause an intense stinging pain in that area of contact almost immediately; Sasuke didn't experience that."

"His symptoms have been slow but progressive." The other blond finished, "Other symptoms of plant-based toxins are rashes, itchy skin of the area, contact sniffles or sneezing, and runny eyes, none of which Sasuke have experienced."

He nodded, "Which leaves us with snake venom as the culprit."

The clone beside them heaved a sigh, almost missing the strange looks Sakura was sending them, "Tazuna-san said that the cottonmouth, habu, and mamushi are in the Land of Waves."

"Yeah, some of the deadliest snakes out there." Naruto grumbled out, "We're two or three hours away from reaching the Land of Waves. We'd have to be pretty lucky to even find  _one_ of them but Sasuke won't have time if we wait that long."

"Plus, even if you'd find one of those three snakes, it'd at least take you an hour to create an antivenin for it." They stated, giving their summoner a sympathetic look, "Boss."

"Hm?"

"What if instead of worrying about an antivenin, how about using the delicate illness extraction technique  **(1)**?" They raised an eyebrow in question.

The medic stiffened, giving the clone a look, "You know as much as I do that that particular extraction technique does not have a very good track record when it comes to minors."

"Yes, I  _do_  know, but do you have any other ideas?" They raised their eyebrows, "Look, I understand that the delicate illness extraction technique should only be used on adults as their bodies have finally finished growing but Sasuke will  _die_ without the extraction."

Naruto thought for a moment, knowing that his clone was right, "This isn't a safe area; the Demon Brothers proved that."

"Then  _make it_ safe." The clone gave their summoner a pointed look, "I'll let you decide on what to do, I'm just here to carry Sasuke and bounce ideas off."

"Yeah, thanks…" He mumbled out, giving his teammate a concerned look. The poison – despite Naruto's efforts to slow it down – was still very much affecting him to the point where the medic might have to cross out  **MILD** from his notebook and replace it with  **MODERATE** ; he'd have to do that only after Sasuke started throwing up, which he hadn't… good. However, he knew that Sasuke couldn't continue to go on like this – weak, fragile, fatigued, sickly – forever. If the poison continued to linger in the Uchiha's body, it could be catastrophic.

Sasuke will  _die_ if Naruto doesn't do anything about it, like  _now_.

"Stop." His voice was loud and serious, thickened with authority that usually claimed his words when he was giving out orders at the hospital. It was a sound that he was heavily acquainted with, didn't mean he liked it.

Sakura's head was the first to whip around, a worried look crossing her face, "What? Is something wrong with Sasuke?"

Kakashi took one step in their direction, "What is it, Naruto?"

Naruto gave his clone a look, eyebrows furrowing in a silent question. The clone tilted his head before nodding slowly. He heaved a sigh, eyes sliding shut for a moment, "I'm pretty positive that I know what Sasuke's been poisoned with." His words sounded monotone, uncaring but his teammates knew that it was the 'medic voice' coming through, "And it doesn't look very good."

Kakashi walked up to the medic, "Venom-based?"

"Venom-based." He repeated slowly, nodding more to himself than his team.

The kunoichi's shoulders slumped, looking nervous as anxiety seemed to bubble in her eyes, "So, what does this mean for Sasuke?"

"It means that the two of us," Naruto pointed at himself and their unconscious teammate, "aren't going to be moving anytime soon."

The Jonnin in front of him looked stricken, "Excuse me?"

He turned his attention to his teacher, "If we continue to push Sasuke's body, he will die. His body cannot handle the poison in his system for much longer. Even if he's only showing mild symptoms, I don't want to wait for it to get worse."

"Naruto, we've already established that this area is not safe." The Jonnin stated, motioning to the forests around them.

"Then I will  _make it_  a safe area." He caught the pointed look his clone sent him as the medic started to fly through seals, summoning about a dozen and a half clones. They saluted to their teacher before spreading themselves out, hiding in the brush buried in the depths of the forests. "Kakashi-sensei, he  _can't_  continue to travel in his position and  _you know_  that," Naruto said, getting slightly worked up.

"Yes, but I also can't leave two of my students by themselves when we are already so far from Konoha." Kakashi sighed out, not wanting to play 'bad guy' but knowing that he needs to keep his team together.

"Let me put this in medical terms. Toxins change the speed of different body functions, increasing or decreasing them depending on what type it is. It can increase the heart rate, cause sweating or fevers; it can even stop someone's breathing or cause organ failure… which inevitably leads to death without treatment. It can also potentially slow a person's immune system so that their body cannot fight of the poison to the best of its ability." He grounded out firmly, his 'medic voice' coming out as clear as day with maybe a hint of aggravation, "If this venom-based poison is of the habu or mamushi kind then it's going to be fatal for anyone poisoned by it."

" _Naruto_ -"

"Kakashi-sensei, please, I'm not finished." The blond-haired medic held up a hand, face firm as he spoke once more, "Sasuke is showing mild symptoms: headaches, passing cough, fatigue, as well as severe inflammation surrounding the wound. However, he's already exhibiting moderate symptoms like a fever."

"So that means…" Sakura whispers out, looking hopeless.

Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair, "While it may not look like it, Sasuke is going to die if I don't treat him soon."

Sakura stepped forward, a frown of determination on her face, "Then let me stay with you in case-"

" _No_." His eyes hardened, rivaling the fire in his teammate's eyes, "You need to go with Kakashi because - if anything should happen to him - you'd be the only one to protect Tazuna."

"Fine…" Kakashi nodded his head, looking unsure of his decision, "…you can stay  _but_  you meet back up with us as soon as you can."

"Wait, he doesn't know the way to the Land of Waves," Tazuna called out frantically, having stayed quiet for the majority of the conversation.

"That's okay, I'll just give you a shadow clone." Naruto smiled, summoning a clone who waved politely at them, "If he gets hit even once he will poof away so be careful with him."

"Think I can seal them away?" Kakashi questioned, giving the new clone a strange look.

"Oh definitely, they're just chakra." Naruto grinned as Kakashi pulled out a scroll, rolling it underneath the clone and sealing it away for if they need it.

Sakura pulled the medic into a quick hug, squeezing him tightly, "You be careful out there okay, be safe."

He smiled slightly, hugging her back, "I'll try my best."

"No, you  _will_ be safe." She rolled her eyes, pulling away.

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, yeah. And you stay out of trouble when you get to the Land of Waves."

"Will do." She grinned weakly.

"You two sound like you're never going to see each other again." Kakashi rolled his eyes but his words didn't have the same sarcastic bite to it. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder as Sakura went over to Sasuke, "I trust that you know what you're doing and I pray that you'll be okay."

He nodded his head, "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

"You have to come back to us, okay? I don't know what I'd do if you didn't." The man heaved a sigh, "Be careful."

"Yes, sir."

"We should be going. Sakura, you ready?" Kakashi sounded out, already starting to walk away. The kunoichi nodded, giving Sasuke one final worried look before catching up to him. Her eyes lingered on Naruto as they group departed, watching as he and his clone disappeared into the forest.

"He'll be okay." She whispered out, head tilting up to her teacher, "Right?"

"Of course." Kakashi bobbed his head, "Naruto can take care of himself."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. "…delicate illness extraction technique?" I'm going to clear this up now, I'm making up a lot of the information on this medical procedure. The only instance that this technique is used is when Sakura uses it on Kankuro after Sasori poisoned him. There isn't much information on it which makes it hard to write for it but I decided to go with the flow for it, use my own research on the technique as well as my current knowledge of poisons and medical procedures to create what you read in this chapter as well as how it'll be used in the future.


	23. Delicate Extraction

The shuffle of shoes on uneven terrain sound off in the mostly silent forest. It is the sound of multiple entities surrounding a singular area deep within the vines and trunks of the woods. It was nothing to be fearful of, though, as they were Naruto's clones running rampant to secure a location for him and his teammate. The group tried to be as quiet as they could, trying not to alarm any foe within the depths of the forest as to an enemies' approach to their hideout.

A clone popped down from the trees, waving a salute off to his summoner, "A spot looks to be ideal just up ahead, Boss-man."

The medic gave a short nod, "Take me there."

"Yes, sir." They straightened their shoulders, waving a hand to some of the clones still hidden in the brush outside their vision.

"How far is the spot from the road?" Naruto asked, feeling his teammate shift against his back.

The clone stopped as if in thought before continuing their run, "Only a mile or two, we've been running a while."

The blond huffed, furrowing his eyebrows, "That's still pretty close."

"Yes, but you still need time to prepare the poison extraction so, based on that information, this spot is as ideal as we could get it." They stated in that factual voice Naruto sported every now and then, "Is that alright?"

He sighed before nodding, "I guess when you put it that way, a spot like that should be fine for now."

After a moment of silence, the carbon-copy of himself titled his head, "Should we increase the number of clones around here?"

"No." At their confused look, Naruto continued, "Any more clones running around here might alert someone. We need to keep this on the down-low as much as possible."

There is a soft, almost pained groan sounding off in the medic's ear, startling him slightly. "Na… ru… to?" Sasuke murmurs tiredly.

His clone gives the teenager a worried look before glancing at their summoner. The two wordlessly stop to give the raven-haired gennin a look over. The medic turned his head slightly to get a good look at his teammate, "Hey there, how're you feeling?"

"Hurrr…tss." Naruto wanted to chalk up his slurred words as simply waking up but his more logical side of his brain knew that this wasn't a good sign. Quivering fingers tightened in the gennin's jacket, "Wh... w-where… a-arrre we?" Sasuke's eyes looked so droopy, almost as if he was going to fall asleep.

"It's okay, you're okay." Naruto tried to reassure, looking back to his clone who only nodded before starting back up. Wordlessly, the medic followed them to this so-called ideal spot.

"N-N-Nar… utoo…?" He whispered, teeth chattering, "D-Don't feeeel… good."

The blond-haired gennin took a deep breath, trying not to let his heart clench at the pitiful sounds of pain coming from his teammate. When he worked at the hospital, it was illegal to treat anyone you cared for as your love and care for them could very well lead to you making stupid decisions on their behalf. He'd never been put into a position like that – well, maybe when he was treating Lee but they'd only met one other time before then so it most likely didn't count – however, this time it's different.

This is  _Sasuke_.

This is his teammate, the one who helped him figure out what all his clones could do in and out of battle. The one who came to him for help when he'd hurt his arm whilst training. This is his best friend, the one who confided in him about his guilt and need for revenge for what happened to his family. The one who had always been a confident factor in Naruto's life always helped him with everything. He is  _family_  now and that means that treating Sasuke is going to be the hardest thing he's ever done.

He can't have his emotions running rampant, can't have them layering over his care. He needed to have a cool head going to heal Sasuke to the best of his abilities. The blond took a deep breath, trying to imagine Sasuke as just another patient at the hospital who had been injured in an unrelated accident. It wasn't working and he simply stuck to worrying his lip.

This is Sasuke, who needs his help and as the medic of Team 7, it was Naruto's job to do his best.

"Where… a-are we?" His best friend tried again, his words spoken through gritted teeth.

"Somewhere safe." He reassured, knowing damn well that this area wasn't safe at all. He was trying his best but that doesn't mean that he's succeeded in what he promised Kakashi.

"We're coming up to it now." The clone Naruto had almost forgotten was there spoke up, pointing to just up ahead where a thick layer of wall-sized bushes blanketed the woods around it. It drowned the trees in comparison, sticking out with thorns and what not.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, "That doesn't look like an 'ideal' spot."

The clone gave him a bored look, "We found a spot that leads to a mostly hollow area inside of the bush. The clones have been inside for the last thirty minutes cleaning it out. We already started to clean it up for model conditions for poison extraction."

"Alright, I get it." He huffed, slowing down to a walk, following his clone around to the other side.

"What are your orders, Boss-man?" They asked upon reaching the moderately sized hole. Another clone poked their head out from inside the bush, blinking up at their summoner.

"Are there any others inside there?" Naruto questioned, getting a nod, "Send them out to secure the area close to this location. If they can get in touch with any of the other clones, make sure they keep a lookout for anyone with malice intentions."

The one closer to the ground blinked up, "What do you want us two to do? Or are we free to go."

That got a grin from their summoner, "Sorry, but I'm going to need your help with the delicate illness extraction technique."

The two clones laugh together, nodding their heads in understanding. "Let's get Sasuke inside so we can begin." They said.

As lightly as he could, Naruto pulls his teammate off his back, hands pressed lightly into his backs as he lowers the gennin to the ground. The clone partially inside waves to the others still fixing up the hollowness of the bush to come to help them. Naruto and the clone who'd shown him the way here lift Sasuke's legs off the ground as the others slid him in as gently as possible. A discontented grunt comes from the teenager, looking like he might pass out once more.

"He's going to get worse." One of the clones inside murmur in worry as they set the black-haired gennin down on the sleeping bag provided by Naruto. The clones give their teammate a look before exiting. Others follow it out, leaving their summoner and two clones left.

"Alright, let's get to it." The medic claps in authority, "We need some freshwater and lots of it. I want a continuous supply of freshwater in my presence always. With the amount of poison in his system and the way its spread, it's going to take me a while to get everything out."

"Yes, sir!" One of them saluted, crawling out of the foliage and disappearing into the forest.

The remaining clone looked to their summoner for orders, "And what shall I do?"

"I want a status update from the other clones while I'm setting up. Five minutes at most, I expect to see you back immediately afterward." Naruto stated with authority, not even batting an eye at the salute as they left. He starts to pull out tools for the poison extraction when there is a hand pulling at his shirt weakly. The medic glanced down, "Hm?"

The abundance of fear lingering in Sasuke's eyes is startling to say nonetheless, not to mention the quiver in his lip. The blond stops what he's doing to give his teammate a once over. "N-Naruto..."

"What is it?" His voice is soft and grounds the poisoned gennin enough to prompt him to speak again.

"I d-don't want to die." His words fill the room with such trepidation, the tone ghosted with anxiety.

Naruto reached out, smoothing back his best friend's hair to feel his forehead which was starting to feel very feverish, "I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen."

"I… I have to…" Sasuke gulped back on the lack of saliva in his mouth, "h-have to g-get… revenge for… for my clan."

"I know, you've got to stay strong for me okay. Give me five or ten minutes and we can finally get you on your way to recovery." He gives the boy a soft smile, eyes warm with guarantee, "You're going to be okay." The medic tried not to see the glossy look in his best friend's eyes as it wouldn't look good on the teen's image when he was more coherent.

"Team…?" The medic could see that Sasuke was starting to look as if he was going to fall asleep again, but the Uchiha fought to stay awake.

"I sent them on ahead." He stated, pulling out two different bowls for the delicate illness extraction technique.

A shocked look startles the black-haired teen's features for a second or two, "Wha… w-why?"

"You're in no position to travel right now, Sasuke." Naruto stated calmly, "The poison is starting to affect you more so we need to do the poison extraction now."

"I feel… f-fine… little cold, though." He murmurs quietly, leaning into the sleeping bag that surrounded his sweaty features.

The got a laugh out of the medic, "I'm sure you do."

"I'm back with a report." A clone popped their head inside the hollowed bush.

"Well?"

"A bandit wagon has been spotted two miles from our location and there are suspicious entities walking up and down the path. I've told the others not to engage but to make sure that none of them brought them to your location." They stated quickly, "It does not seem like either party knows of our intentions or whereabouts."

Naruto nodded, "That's good, hopefully, it'll stay that way."

"And if not?"

"We will make sure that they don't get to Sasuke." The medic stated, authority in his voice.

"Yes, sir." The clone bowed, fully stepping into the hollowed bush, "What is it that you need of me now?"

He waved a hand to the area around them, "I just need you to help me finish preparing for extraction."

They saluted, "Of course."

The summoner and carbon-copy of him worked in silence, a weight settling upon their shoulders. Sasuke watched with lidded eyes, gulping back anything to soothe the heat in his chest. Despite his internal warmth rising, he couldn't help but feel cold, goosebumps rising as a result. He shivered uncontrollably, exhaustion tickling the back of his mind. "N… Naruto." He voiced weakly.

"Yes?" Sasuke shuts his eyes, taking a deep breath. Everything felt like it was on fire and he was so damn  _thirsty_. His hands ball up the sleeping bag underneath him, an involuntary shiver wracking his body. There is a hand pressed against his forehead, the coolness from it stopping his movements for a moment. "Hey, what's wrong? What do you need?" Naruto's soft voice was all that the gennin could hear as he finally opened his eyes.

"W-Water…" Sasuke groaned out, "… ple… ase?"

The medic nodded, pulling away to reach for a water bottle. He signaled for his clone to help the raven-haired teen up so that he can drink something. He only drank a little bit, the feeling of something cold going down his throat only relieving for a few seconds before becoming uncomfortable. "It's okay." Naruto whispered, "You're going to be okay, just rest for now."

Sasuke nodded dumbly, no one has to tell him twice. His eyes slid shut without another word out of him. The summoner and clone took the time to look at each other. "You can do this, Boss-man." The clone reassured, giving him a smile.

"I know but doesn't make it any easier." Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair.

They bobbed their head in understanding, "You can't think about that right now, Boss, you've got to get your head in the game. No more pity thoughts, okay?"

"Yes, of course." He took a deep breath, "This is just a regular patient who's been poisoned by an unidentified snake." But it's not, this is Sasuke.

"That's one way to put it." The clone shrugged. The two Naruto's fell into a comfortable silence as they continued to get ready for the inevitable. Every now and then, Sasuke would let out a groan of discomfort or his face would screw up as if in pain. It got Naruto's attention every time, stopping whatever he was doing to watch… just in case.

Another clone popped in, two water bottles in hand. They shook them for a second before handing the bottles over to their summoner. "The stream was a little farther than I expect, that's why it took so long." The clone stated, watching as Naruto poured both water bottles into the bowl. The second clone inside the foliage got to work on sterilizing the water for medicinal uses.

"That's fine but this isn't going to be enough water." The medic sighed, "I'll need you to get some more immediately."

They bobbed their head in understanding as Naruto handed the water bottles back over, "Of course. I'll be sure to check in with any of the others should I run into them."

"Thank you." He said, watching the clone disappear once more.

"Are you sure you won't need another one of us to help you with this process?" The remaining clone questioned.

Naruto worried his lip in thought, "No, it should be fine. If I need more, I'll make more. Is the mixture ready for use?"

"Just let it sit for a few minutes." They informed, leaning away from the bowl to stare at their poisoned teammate, "We should probably use some form of anesthesia on him, just enough to know that he won't wake up during the extraction."

He shook his head, "If we use something like that on Sasuke, he may not wake up. Weakness leads to unconsciousness."

The clone sighed, looking bitter, "Right, but we can't explain everything we're doing every time he wakes up."

"So, what are you suggesting?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Because you know we can't use anesthesia."

They gave a pointed look to his bag, "Still got that whisky  **(1)**?"

"Oh, Kami, I can't believe you're suggesting I give Sasuke alcohol." If he didn't have any dignity, he might have slapped his forehead at his clone's thought, "That's illegal."

"It's illegal for you to carry it with you." The clone gave a knowing smirk.

"That's because it's used by medical professionals in emergencies where-" He started but he silenced himself at the pointed look coming from the other Naruto.

"Still illegal."

The medic crossed his arms, "I'm not forcing Sasuke to drink alcohol."

The clone raised their hands in surrender, "Alright, fine, whatever. No alcohol for Sasuke. However-"

 _Ugh_. Is this really how Naruto sounds to his teammates?

"-you should consider bringing in some other clones." They suggested, "This is a very painful procedure and since we're not using any pain medications or anesthesia, we'll need a lot of us to hold him down while you operate."

He looked away, "I really shouldn't."

"You want to preserve your chakra for this operation and in case someone attacks us, I get that. You also want to have us out there," The clone pointed outside the bush, "to keep an eye on the area. However, you can't have both. This is Sasuke. You need to start acting like a medic and not a ninja."

Naruto took a deep breath, "Act like a medic and not a ninja, huh?"

They nodded slowly, glancing over at the bowl to see its progression, "As a medic, you use your skills and talents to save people.  _Use_ us, we're your skills and talents and Sasuke is the person you are to save. So, take a step away from being a ninja and just do your  _job_."

"Right." He mumbled to himself, resolve solidified, "Act like a medic-"

"-and not a ninja." The clone shared a grin with his summoner, "It's time now."

In a flurry of hand motions, four more clones appeared around their unconscious teammate. "Alright." Naruto clapped, the bowl being moved closer to where he was kneeled on the ground, "Let's do our job."

"Yes, sir!" The clones coursed together.

"I want two of you at Sasuke's feet and two up at his chest. One of you needs to be beside me at all times with the bowls ready." The medic looked around, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The clones moved in sync, never touching one another or getting in each other's way.

Naruto settled beside his friend's infected arm. The normally pale skin was inflamed, veins purple with toxins. It looked extremely uncomfortable not to mention painful. He stared at it for a moment,  _"Don't worry, Sasuke, I've got you."_

The clones removed Sasuke's shirt, exposing the traveling toxins for viewing. "We're ready, Boss-man." The one directly beside him stated, wide blue eyes staring at him.

He nodded without a word, a single hand raised with a glow of blue. He closed his eyes felt for where the poisoned had ended up in teammate's bloodstream. Naruto trailed his hand up his teammate's forearm, following the blood up to his chest. The medic could feel his heart aching at the thought that the toxins had possibly reached Sasuke's heart as he inched closer. "There." He murmured mostly to himself, eyes opening to where the poison stopped.

A few inches from his heart.

Naruto took a calming breath, swallowing back his worries as he created an incision against that spot. He pushed past the furrow of pain in Sasuke's eyebrows, getting back to work. The blond-haired gennin turned towards the bowl full of treated water, dipping his glowing palm into it. The water, attracted to his medical ninjutsu, clung to him eagerly. He pulled his hand away, setting it against the infected area.

"Are you ready?" The medic asked the clones, seeing them tense up, ready to do the jobs assigned to them.

"Of course." Only one spoke out, giving verbal confirmation to their summoner.

He took a deep breath in, concentrating on the infected body in front of him. On the exhale, Naruto pushed the medicinal mixture into his friend's body. It was excruciatingly slow, not to mention painful. The clones did their job of holding down Sasuke who's body flared up in response. There was a silent scream caught in his throat as the Uchiha unconsciously tried to jerk away from whatever his teammate was doing to him.

"Keep him down." Naruto grit out, still pushing the mixture into the infected area.

"Sasuke!" The clone beside him sounded out, reaching out to unhinge the raven-haired gennin's jaw.

The medic took a chance to look up at the commotion only to see blood draining out of his mouth. He nearly lost his concentration, "What happened?!"

They reached for a wet rag and placed it in the Uchiha's mouth, "It seems that Sasuke bit his tongue rather ruthlessly when we started. That rag should prevent it from happening again. Please proceed as normal."

Naruto tried to get the lead taste of guilt out of his mouth as he finally got every last drop of liquid inside his teammate's arm. He shut his eyes, using his other hand to drag it through Sasuke's body up to the incision. It was slow and caused the Uchiha so much pain but the poison needed to get out of his body immediately. The medic blocked out the muffled screams as much as his could, pulling to poison out as much as he could.

"Hey, I'm back with some more water." The clone from before popped in but stopped at what was in front of him.

Without disturbing their summoner, a different clone reached for the water bottles to pour them into one of the bowls. They handed them back, "Go, get more. We're going to need more than this."

They glanced at the water bottles and sighed, "Alright, alright, I got it. I'll be back again."

The four clones continued to hold down the convulsing Uchiha as the remaining one started to take the freshwater and treat it so it'd be usable for the delicate illness extraction technique. One of Sasuke's legs got loose, thrashing around and nearly destroying the clone that was supposed to be holding it. "Get a hold of yourself!" One of them shouted out to the other clone who just gave them a dirty look before finally getting a hold of their teammate's leg.

Naruto pushed harder on the liquid, dragging his hand against the Uchiha's chest a little faster. It edged closer to the incision before finally showing itself in the treated water on the other side. He took a deep breath, watching Sasuke's body go slack with shivers. The medic dumped the combination of treated water and whatever the raven-haired gennin had been poisoned with into a different bowl.

He took a deep breath, already tired with only one round of this. The blond summoned two more clones who gave him blank stares. Naruto took a moment to realize that the hollowed bush was starting to get a little cramped. "Alright, you two, I want an antidote for this poison immediately." He stated, handing the bowl over to them, "You know that the delicate illness extraction technique won't eliminate the entirety of the poison so this antidote is needed immediately."

"Of course." One stated.

"Already on it." The other bobbed their head before they both left to work outside where they won't be in the way.

Naruto turned his attention to the clone beside him, "Is the second batch ready for use?"

"It should be." They stated, sliding the bowl closer to him, "Does Sasuke look ready for another round?"

He glanced at the Uchiha who looked worse for wear, "I think his fever is trying to spike. Someone get me another rag for his forehead and if we have ice packs, I want those under his armpit and knees immediately  **(2)**."

"You're going to work while he's like  _this_?" The clone looked exasperated.

"I don't really have a choice." The medic said darkly, "I made a promise and I don't plan on breaking it." He looked back to the withering teen surrounded by worried clones.  _"I'm sorry for the pain I'm putting you through, Sasuke, but there really isn't any other way."_ Naruto knew that this was the only thing he could do for his teammate.

Didn't make it hurt any less, though.

* * *

 **1.** _"Still got that whisky?"_ If you live in the U.S., whiskey is usually spelled with an 'e' in between the 'k' and 'y' but over in Japan, there is no 'e' in the spelling. Some of you might be wondering why I'm including a primarily European alcoholic beverage in a Japanese fanfiction. In the rewrite of 'He's My Son', I go over this somewhat. Most people when they write someone drinking from a Japanese anime, they choose sake as what they drink. I'm tired of it and I am forever breaking traditions. Plus, Japanese Whisky is almost on par with Scottish Whiskey – which is the most common type of whiskey out there and more widely known. Hopefully, this wasn't confusing or interrupted the flow of the story.

 **2.** _"…if we have ice packs, I want those under his armpit and knees immediately."_ If someone has a fever, the armpits and knees are the best places to put ice packs as they help to cool down the body faster. I didn't include the part about the rag as I'm sure everyone knows that wet rags on foreheads help you cool down as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of this sort-of-long chapter (almost 4,500 words, wow). How'd you like all that Naruto and Inc. friendship/banter? It was really hard to write the same character as two separate entities, one as Naruto and the other as his clone. That's probably not going to happen for a while in the story so enjoy it while you can. The next chapter is going to have a lot of fluff moments so I hope your poor heart can handle it. Exams are over and it's summer break now.
> 
> Thank you all for waiting on this next update, I've been busy. I wanted to hang out with my friends before they left to have their summer vacations out of state as well as celebrating my anniversary with my boyfriend (three years now!) so I haven't had the chance to sit down and write. I have had this chapter in my drafts for like a month now and I've only just gotten around to it. I hope you enjoyed it and I promise that you won't have to wait long for the next chapter.


	24. It's Slow, But Still There

The first thing Sasuke could feel upon regaining some sense of consciousness was the ache in his chest and just how heavy his body felt; it was almost like he weighed a ton. There's a taste of lead in his mouth, a vile thing that made his stomach churn. A groan slipped past the Uchiha's lips as the weakness and pain finally caught up to him. What happened to him while he was out?

After a little more tossing and turning, trying to get his senses back together, Sasuke could clearly smell a fire somewhere close by, a crackling evident in his ears. It sounded wonderful in the eerie quietness that had once settled over the area. He listened with cotton for brains, simply allowing everything to zone in on that sound.

The teenager felt his nose twitch before the smell of stew hit him; someone was cooking something and did it smell  _amazing_.

Sasuke opened his eyes, head groggily trying to process his surroundings. He was right about the fire, the orange glow of it just barely entering the little-hollowed area he was lying in. It encompassed everything with warmth and comfort. There was a small metal pot lying just above it on some makeshift rack, water starting to push the top of the lid upwards as it boiled.

The black-haired gennin watched it for a second, mesmerized before slowly starting to sit up, abdomen protesting as he did. He gave a quiet groan, eyes squeezing shut; he felt like  _shit_. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, a yawn pulling at his lips. He looked at his surroundings once more.

There was a bush as tall as the trees standing proudly around him, with only a small hole to crawl out of as a means of an exit. The ground beneath him had been smoothed out by a shoe which was indicated by the impression of a sole or two. Underneath him was Naruto's sleeping bag with a splattering of blood here or there. Sasuke blinked at that; what the  _fuck_ happened while he was out?!

The Uchiha tried to desperately remember, mind muddy with disuse. He deduced that it had a lot to do with Naruto. Those were the most evident memories in his head at the moment, the medic trying his best to help him. However, whatever his teammate might have said during that time were muffled by the cotton that must have been stuffed to the brim in his tired mind.

Sasuke could only see fragmented images of a clone or two moving around him, being given orders and setting up something. The dark-haired boy furrowed his eyebrows in concentration; if Naruto brought him here, where was he now? He blinked in sudden realization, head frantically looking around – where was the rest of his team?

He took a deep breath, swallowing back the fear plaguing his heart. "They're probably in the area, no need to panic." Sasuke shook his head, trying to see if he could sense their chakra signature;  _nothing_. The thought was worrying and he wanted to keep looking for them but his head was starting to hurt from overuse in such a weakened state.

There was a rustling somewhere outside of the safety of this hollowed bush. Sasuke reached to his thigh for a kunai but realized that he didn't have any on him. His eyes widened,  _"Was I kidnapped? Why else would I not have my weapons?"_  He prepared for anything, legs pulling close to his body in case he needed to escape. The movement continued, getting closer and closer before stopping altogether.

A head popped through the entrance, blinking up at the raven-haired gennin only to have a foot slam into his face. "ACK!" The intruder gasped in shock, "Sasuke, what the hell?!"

The Uchiha, upon the mention of his name, pulled his foot away, "Naruto?!"

"Yeah, what a way to thank the person who saved your life." The medic huffed, fully crawling into the hollowed area. He ran a hand through his blond hair, blue eyes piercing his teammate's very soul.

Sasuke could see that soft smile starting to crawl onto the other boy's features, "Well, don't scare me like that, idiot."

"Scare you?" Naruto looked exasperated, scoffing lightly, "You nearly gave me a heart attack earlier."

He gave his best friend a confused look, "Earlier? What happened  _earlier_?"

"Yeah, earlier." Naruto waved a hand like it was the easiest thing to understand before stopping, "Do you seriously not remember anything?"

"I remember  _some_ things just not…  _all_ things." The raven-haired gennin responded, scooting closer to the medic, "I remember everyone freaking out about something and that we were supposed to be taking a client to the Land of Waves."

"Ah, no wonder you were so ungrateful." The blond chuckled playfully, massaging his nose from where the other boy hit him.

"So, what happened?" Sasuke tried getting it out of him.

Naruto waved to the exit of the hollowed bush, "I'll tell you over some food, Kami knows you need it. You've been asleep for thirteen hours."

"W-What?!"

"Shh, we're not in a safe location right now." He murmured, already exiting the area.

"What do you mean we're not 'in a safe location'?" Sasuke asked frantically, following him out, "Why isn't it safe?!"

Naruto didn't look up, already near the fire and taking the lid off the pot. He was silent for a moment, simply stirring the contents of the stew inside. The medic reached beside him for some firewood he must have gotten while Sasuke was unconscious before throwing it into the fire. The two watched in silence as the fire blazed soothing.

"Well?"

"Just be quiet for a moment." He whispered out, looking into the depths of the forest. There was a flash of yellow somewhere in there, nearly scaring the shit out of Sasuke.

He scooted closer to the medic who didn't look worried at all, "What the fuck was that?"

"It was one of my clones signaling me about the road. I've had an eye on it for the last few hours; there's a bandit wagon hiding out there." Naruto explained, stirring the stew again before reaching for a bowl, "I'm afraid that they might attack us should they know of our whereabouts."

"Won't they just see your clone?" Sasuke asked worriedly.

"If they manage to see it, my clone will simply disappear and give me the information that the group might come for us now that they know what I look like." The blond still looked bored by the information, not bothered by the thought that someone could ambush them at any time.

Sasuke took a moment to mull over the information given to him; they really weren't in a safe location. He scooted closer to the fire, sighing at the warmth that lapped at his sweaty skin. Without a word, the medic handed over a blanket, the Uchiha taking it gingerly. He looked at the blond, "You going to tell me what happened now?"

"Yeah, of course, just eat something while I'm doing that." He stated, handing over a bowl to him, "You're going to need your strength if you're to travel again."

"Alright." The gennin murmured, taking the spoon and drinking some of the broth.

"For starters, we were attacked by two guys – the Demon Brothers – who were both known for their assassination techniques and poisons." He explained to his teammate, "And the reason as to  _why_ the team was freaking out was because you'd been scratched during the attacked."

"Okay, and?"

"You were poisoned, Sasuke, and it was  _bad_." Naruto gave the boy a pointed look.

"Oh, that… that makes a lot more sense now." Sasuke mumbled, thinking back to how bad he felt.

"I gave you a shot that would help to slow down the poison so I'd have time to extract it in a safe location before the toxins reached your heart." The medic stated, pouring the stew into a second bowl, probably for himself, "However, we were running out of time; the poison was spreading faster than I'd anticipated. There was no way you were going to make it all the way to the Land of Waves without some severe repercussions."

The Uchiha stopped eating to give the gennin a look, "What happened then?"

Naruto looked down at his stew, "I decided that you were no longer fit to travel and that I needed to work to get the poison out of your system immediately."

"What? Why?" His eyes were wide, nearly dropping his bowl.

"Sasuke, you were  _poisoned_." Naruto huffed, "You were already looking worse for wear even after I had a clone carry you most of the way after you'd been poisoned."

"What?!"

He rolled his eyes, waving a hand before taking another bite of his stew, "And stop screaming, you were sleeping most of the time they carried you."

"Why was I even being carried in the first place?" He murmured, but his teammate heard him clearly.

"Because when you're poisoned, your body needs all of its energy to fight it. If you're walking for hours on end, you tend to use up that energy quickly. I needed time to figure out what you'd been poisoned with but we also needed to keep moving since that area wasn't safe." Naruto pointed out, eating some of his food before proceeding once more, "However, even with the clone carrying you, it didn't look like you were going to last very long. We still had two hours left till we even touched the Land of Waves at that point."

The other teenager ate slowly, his stomach feeling starved but not really wanting anything in it, "Well, what'd you do?"

"As the only one trained to handle these situations as well as being the only medic in the group, I made the team leave us behind." Naruto shrugged, finishing off his stew quickly.

"What?!"

"Sasuke, you really shouldn't scream. I still don't know if this area is safe." The medic reminded tiredly.

He worried his lip, looking down at his lap, "Right…"

"Sasuke, listen. If we had kept moving, you would have died from poisoning. You were already showing mild symptoms that needed to be treated before anything too severe happened. In order to have extracted the poison, I would have needed a lot of time, time that the team doesn't have. I told Kakashi-sensei and Sakura to go on without us, that we'd catch up when we can." Naruto whispered, filling his bowl up for another round, "We've already been gone for a day and a half."

"When do we leave?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

The medic raised an eyebrow, giving gave him a look, "Tell me how you feel and I'll decide when we leave."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, "I feel-"

"I mean  _honestly_." That look had returned once more, piercing Sasuke's soul.

He heaved a sigh, drinking the broth from his stew. "I feel… like shit. My body aches and my abdomen hurts, almost like it's on fire – oh, and my arm is like that too. Everything feels like it weighs a ton and I've got a pretty bad headache too." The raven-haired gennin ran a hand through his hair, "Even though I just woke up, I still feel pretty exhausted."

Naruto nodded, a calculating glaze over his blue eyes, "It's to be expected, you had a pretty bad fever after the poison extraction. As for this pain you're feeling, how much does it hurt on a scale of one to ten."

"Probably a three or four. It's not enough to stop me from doing things but it's just enough to be annoying." The Uchiha explained tiredly.

"I see." The medic mumbled out, pulling something out of his front pocket, "Lean forward a second and open your mouth."

"What-"

"Just do it, idiot." Without another word, Sasuke leaned forward and opened his mouth slightly, only to have a thermometer lightly pushed past his lips. Naruto smiled softly, "Keep that in until it beeps. I've got to see if your fever's broken or not. If it hasn't come down yet, we aren't leaving." Sasuke was about to protest but one look from the medic made him reconsider. There was a quiet beep in the silent forest. Naruto pulled the thermometer, looking at it.

"What does it say?" Sasuke asked curiously, almost worried.

"101.3, your fever's still there, so… guess we're staying for a while." Naruto sighed, looking a lot older than a simply gennin, "You need rest if we're going to leave soon. I'm still a little worried about the team and I want to make sure they're okay as soon as possible. So, go to sleep and we'll see how you feel when you wake up, alright?"

"I guess so." Sasuke murmured before giving the medic a look. He tried not to think about the exhausted look in Naruto's eyes as he crawled back into his friend's sleeping bag. He wondered if the blond had slept at all while he'd been healing or if Naruto had simply pulled an all-nighter just to make sure that Sasuke was okay. He hoped not; the medic was always going on about how important sleep was for people.

Maybe Naruto had slept and he had just done so much during the day that he was tired. After all, there were clones all around them, they could have watched over the two of them whilst they slept. Though, Sasuke was assuming that there was more than one clone in the area since his friend had only mentioned the one earlier.

"Naruto?" He called out.

There was a shuffle from outside the hollowed bush before a head appeared, "You okay?"

"I'm… I'm okay, I just…" Sasuke stared into those dull blue eyes, wondering if there were some things that the medic hadn't told him, "Did you sleep at all while I was out?"

"I slept after I got all the poison out of your system." The words were spoken pretty quickly with a hint of monotone to them; was he lying? The Uchiha couldn't be sure but he was simply too exhausted to really dwell on the thought.

Naruto was still there as the black-haired teenager settled in the sleeping bag, "How'd you get the poison out?"

"I'll tell you about it when you wake up later, okay? You need to sleep." He whispered out softly, giving his teammate a warm smile.

"Yeah, yeah." Sasuke murmured, cuddling up against the blanket above him, "Whatever."

Naruto gave his teammate a warm smile, trying not to let the anxiety cloud his features as he stepped out of the hollowed bush. He went back to the fire, his eyes boring into the warm flames. The medic heaved a deep sigh and picked up his bowl for another serving of stew.

He'd need to throw the food out soon, he mused, the smell of something this delicious would most likely attract unwanted attention whether it be by some bandits or creatures of the night. Naruto picked up his utensil, spooning some meat into his mouth. If he was at home, he'd be able to prepare something better than this with more nutrients and vegetables.

Sasuke shifted inside the hollowed bush, drawing his attention to him. The medic stared for a moment, thinking back to how he hurt him so much beforehand. His friend's screams still pierced his ears, ghostly in his brain. Naruto knows that he needed to use the delicate illness extraction technique to save the raven-haired gennin's life but that doesn't mean that he liked it. Sasuke had been in  _so much_ pain and it was caused by the very person who was supposed to be helping him.

Naruto rubbed his eyes tiredly, having not slept once since the extraction. Three of the dozen clones he'd created had all been destroyed, sending back their memories to him. There were now three groups of bandits scouring the forests for the strange blond-haired teen stalking out the area. He needed to stay awake, alert, just to make sure that no one got to Sasuke while he rested and healed.

It was fine though; the gennin had gone longer without sleep, this was nothing. He'd always been rather an insomniac, he mused. A yawned pulled at his lips as he continued eating, ears picking up on movement in the distance. Naruto bit his lip; he should put out the fire, bury the food and hide in the hollowed bush. He should, but he won't.

If there was something in the woods out to get him, he needs to be able to see what was there in order to plan his attack. At the moment, his mind had reverted back to ninja, taking a big step away from being the medic. Naruto knew that he could take on regular civilian bandits that were most definitely lurking in the area but if there was even a chance of a ninja out there, he probably wouldn't fair to well.

And so, he waited.

* * *

Today was a bad day, Hiruzen mused to himself, walking down the oh-so-familiar streets. Bystanders waved enthusiastically at him, calling his name with such endearment and awe. On most days, the old Hokage might have stopped to shake their hands or hug the younger ones with words of wisdom for them.

However, today was a  _bad_ day and bad days soured his mood.

The old Sarutobi man continued his walk, hands limply swinging by his side. He felt dreadful, completely exhausted from a day's work. Hiruzen could have just left his office and simply gone home to the estate where his grandson was most likely still fighting the housemaids for a new bedtime – obviously, eight o'clock was too early of a bedtime. He'd be able to have dinner with some of the other members of his clan and not worry about what was to happen in the future.

But he couldn't do that. There was another pressing matter that he had to attend to before the night could officially be over. And so, Hiruzen walked towards the hospital with an air of trepidation filling his head and making things fuzzy.

The smell of disinfectants is a familiar scent as he walks hesitantly inside, eyes peering over the thinning crowd. "Ah, Riozawa, good evening." Hiruzen gave the young man's face as he tended to some paperwork at the front.

"What – oh! Lord Third, it's u-um good to finally meet you in person." The nurse bowed his head politely, scooting his paperwork to the side, "How may I help you today?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where Dr. Terra, Dr. Yiruma, or Dr. Chakochi are, do you?" He questioned, peering over to the stairs as if his stare would magically make them appear.

Riozawa thought for a moment before shrugging, "I know that Dr. Chakochi is in ICU with some recent burn victims and Dr. Terra should be on the fourth floor in the western wing. As for Dr. Yiruma, I haven't seen him much today."

The Sarutobi man nodded his head slowly, "I see."

"Would you perhaps like if I paged them that you're here to see them?" The nurse suggested, hand hovering over a blue button.

"I would really appreciate it; it's rather of importance," Hiruzen stated, olden eyes almost piercing the young man.

He nodded his head, clicking a button and pulling a phone to his ear. He waited for a moment before a smile ghosted his features, "Yes, Dr. Yiruma, good to hear from you. I just wanted to say that, when you get the time, please come down to the lobby; Lord Third has requested your presence. Yes… I see, I'll you down here shortly."

Hiruzen went over to the benches to sit down, old knees creaking in protest. He knew he wouldn't have to wait long as it seemed that if he called, everything was to be stopped immediately. It was the price that came from being the Hokage, he mused.

"Ah, good evening, Dr. Chakochi. Have you finished with the surgery?" Riozawa hummed, finger absentmindedly twisting the phone cord around, "Oh, that's fantastic, I'm glad the patient will come out fine… why I've called? Well, Lord Third is in the lobby and needs to speak with you about something rather important… uh huh, yes ma'am, I'll see you shortly."

The older man sighed to himself, giving a grim smile towards a mother across the room who waved politely at him; he wasn't  _rude_. Hiruzen rotated his wedding ring unconsciously, eyes drawn to the floor. The weight of the world was pressing down so fiercely against his shoulder blades that it was almost hard to breathe.

"Dr. Terra, hello, I hope I am not intruding in anything… oh, well that's just lovely." The nurse smiled despite the receiver not being able to see it, "Just wanted to let you know that Lord Third is here to see you about something… no, he didn't say but he said it was important… Alright, see you soon."

"I'm assuming that they'll be here?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, nearly startling the nurse.

Riozawa bobbed his head, "They'll be down shortly. Dr. Chakochi is cleaning up from the surgery, Dr. Terra is coming from her office where she'd taken her break, and Dr. Yiruma was doing some paperwork when I called."

"Alright, thank you." He gave the young man a smile, one that had almost been forced; Riozawa didn't notice, going back to his work.

The Third Hokage didn't have to wait long for the first of the three doctors to appear. Yiruma was as eccentric as he'd remembered, bounding down the stairs with a vigor that Hiruzen wished he still had. There was a young and calming aura about the man, one that screamed peace and tranquility. "Good evening, Lord Third-ya, it is wonderful to see you again after so long." He hummed politely.

"Yes, well, the last I remember you were still in Med-school and now look at you, head medic." Hiruzen smiled proudly, standing up to pat the young man on the back.

"I had good mentors." Yiruma shrugged off the compliment but still beamed from it, "Now, how may I help you? Riozawa-ya said it was important."

He shook his head, "I rather not explain myself three more times. Let us just wait for the others."

Owlish eyes blinked at him, "Others?"

"Dr. Terra and Dr. Chakochi." Hiruzen stated.

"Oh." The man's mouth was pulled into a tight line, "Does this have anything to do with the hospital? Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, the hospital has been running fine the last I checked." He stared at the lanky man, emotions steeled for the conversation weighing over their heads.

"I see." He murmured out, looking to the stairs where another doctor was making their way down, "Dr. Terra-ya, good of you to join us."

The older woman furrowed her eyebrows, looking between the two males before here, "You got called too?"

Yiruma bobbed his head, "Lord Third-ya said it was important."

She narrowed her eyes at the Hokage, "Important, huh? Alright, out with it."

"Please, I'd rather not explain myself one too many times." The old Sarutobi man sighed wearily, "I'd also prefer to be in a private area if that's alright with you two."

Terra thought for a moment before looking at the nurse's station, "Riozawa, can you please tell Dr. Chakochi to meet us in the medics' lounge."

"Yes, ma'am!" He called from his desk.

"The medics' lounge?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

She waved towards the stairs, the two following her closely, "The only medics here is Dr. Yiruma and Dr. Chakochi, it'll give you all the privacy you need."

He nodded wearily, "Thank you."

"You better not be wasting my time, getting my anxiety up with something stupid." Terra murmured annoyedly; she'd obviously not had a good day.

"I promise, it's far from stupid," Hiruzen stated firmly.

A slight frown marred Yiruma's features, looking worriedly at the leader of their village, "How important  _is_ this?"

"Life or death." The words were said with such bitterness that it nearly startled the two doctors, a pale look crossing their features.

By the time they'd arrived at the lounge, Chakochi was waiting for them inside, preparing a pot of coffee. She blinked in surprise at the three entering the room. "Didn't expect to see you two." The old woman said, directing her words to her fellow doctors, "Would everyone like a glass?"

"Yes." The three sighed heavily, sitting down on the various pieces of furniture littering the room. As the retired medic busied herself with the different cups of coffee, Terra took a seat on one of the loveseats, eyes piercing Hiruzen as he sat down in an armchair. Yiruma took the remaining armchair for himself, knees pulled up close to his body; sometimes the other doctors forgot how young the man was.

Without a word, Chakochi went around the room, dropping off steaming mugs of hospital coffee in the hands of desperate adults. She took a seat by Terra, kicking her shoes off since they were technically on break. The older woman looked at the other's faces, a chuckle caught in her throat, "What's with the look? You all look like you've seen a ghost?"

"Chakochi, please." The woman's voice is soft beside her, a hand pressing against her own, "This is serious."

She blinked in surprise; Terra's never usually like this, "How serious?"

"Life or death," Yiruma repeated with a blank look; that's out of character for him as well.

"I'm sorry to put this on you so late at night when we're all tired from a long day of work but… I need to make a decision soon." Hiruzen grit his teeth as if in pain, "I can't make it without your…  _opinions_ on what I should do."

"What's this about, Hiruzen?" Terra asked, eyes begging him to just  _spit it out_.

He set the mug down on the coffee table, eyes rubbing his forehead wearily, "It's… it's about Naruto."

The air seemed thicker.

"Is he alright?" Chakochi's words are spat out so fast it made the Hokage's head spin; she'd always been a loud one.

"Nothing's happened to him… yet." The old man picked up the glass again, taking a long drink.

"What do you mean  _yet_?" There is venom in Terra's voice but her eyes betrayed her, full of worry for the boy she'd treated like a son for so long.

"Please… give me a moment." In the blue glow from the hospital lights, Hiruzen truly did look as old as he was. His eyes and cheeks were sunken in with pale lips and a chill in his bones that hadn't been there in so long. The three doctors watched him collect him, understanding that this must be hard on him as well. "Alright, where do I even begin?" He murmured to himself, "Our allied nations are acting strange, keeping quiet and pulling their military forces back as much as they can. Trade has been limited and there is talk of an attack."

"What?" The course of shock rocked through the doctors as they continued to listen.

"We believe that they wish to use the Chunnin exams as a means of a distraction in order to launch this attack on us." The Third Hokage gave a heavy sigh, "The number of people that will be there to watch the final round of the Chunnin exams will be massive."

Yiruma crossed his arms, "Why don't you just cancel the exams this year?"

"He can't do that." Chakochi fiddled with the hem of her shirt, eyes trailing around the tiles on the floor, "If the Chunnin exams are canceled, our allies will know that we're on to them and might prematurely attack us. Not to mention all the tourism and business we have sprouting up around that time; that's our bonus funds out the window."

"Oh." The young doctor's jaw snapped shut, eyes downcast.

"What does this have to do with  _Naruto?_ " Terra wasn't even hiding her talons, looking rather angry.

"People will get hurt during the attack… it could be catastrophic and without Tsunade here to heal them with her summons, I'm just afraid that…" His mouth tasted like lead, forcing him to stop what he was saying.

The look of pure horror that passed on her face hurt him more than he thought it would. The doctor shot out of her seat, pointing an accusing finger at him, "You've got to be fucking kidding me?!"

"D-Dr. Terra!" Yiruma looked shocked from the outburst.

Chakochi looked between her best friend and the leader of their village. "What are you talking about?"

The woman ignored the two of them for now, "You're suggesting using Naruto's ability to heal the village, aren't you?!"

A pained look appeared on Hiruzen's face, "I… Terra,  _please-_ "

"You can't  _do that_ to him, of  _all_ people, why him?!" Tears were brimming the bottoms of her eyelids, a sad sight to the others in the rooms; she'd never cried in front of them before, "That's  _Naruto_ , that's my  _baby."_

"I don't want to do this to him." Hiruzen worried his lip, not being able to look his long-time friend in the eyes.

"Then  _don't_." She hissed out, "Don't make him do it!"

The cup of coffee trembled in his hands; this was by far the worst conversation of the day, "I'm s-sorry, you know… you  _know_ I can't just  _not_ do this."

"Then why ask our opinions if you were already going to make him do it?" Yiruma whispered out harshly.

"I want to find an alternative way to get around this problem so Naruto never has to heal someone on such a large scale," Hiruzen stated, looking a little pale in the face.

"There's no other way," Chakochi said defeatedly.

"C-Chakochi?" Terra whipped her head to stare at the woman, "You… You can't really be thinking that…"

The retired medic finished off her coffee, not able to look at the other doctors, "Tsunade-sama  _left_ , Terra, and that woman was the only one in the entire world that could heal hundreds of people in one sitting… up until now."

"But, Chakochi-ya, there has to be another way." Yiruma sputtered out, still coming back from his shock.

"We have Naruto now who can do the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. I've seen him running around the hospital with multiples of himself, especially when we were understaffed." She gulped weakly, "I know he can do this, he's strong."

"But that doesn't mean that he  _should_!" Terra shouted out, furious, "He is  _fourteen_ , he just became an official medic and he's only just gone on his first C-ranked mission. How is a boy like that supposed to heal an entire  _fucking_ village?!"

"I don't  _want_  him to." The broken voice pulled the three doctors towards the leader of their village. A hand came up to wipe the tears trailing down his face, looking completely heartbroken by the very thought of the world resting on such a young person's shoulder. "I don't want to force another child to be the village's backboard." Hiruzen whispered out harshly, "I can't  _do that_ to Naruto but I'm running out of options."

Terra gave him a look, anger and worry still clouding her eyes, "Then find  _Tsunade_."

He looked down at his hands, "She won't answer any of my letters, I can't-"

"Find.  _Tsunade_." She hissed ruthlessly, "Force her to come back because I won't allow you to put my boy through a suicide mission." With that, Terra stomped out of the room, unshed tears pooling in her eyes. The remaining three watched her leave, all with heavy hearts.

Chakochi turned towards Hiruzen, "If you can find Tsunade-sama, this whole issue will be resolved."

"And if you can't…" Yiruma bit his lip, "then Uzumaki-ya will really have to be used."

 _Used_.

That one word brought such a bitter taste to Hiruzen's mouth. He'd already  _used_ one child, he hoped that he wouldn't have to  _use_ another one for the village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't that fun to write and I don't think it flowed very well but it's almost 5,500 words which is really exciting for me as the last several chapters have stayed in the 3,000 – 4,000 word area. I also wanted to apologize if the mini-arc between Hiruzen and Konohagakure as well as the Wave arc are taking forever. I know most of you are already talking about the Chunnin exams and are excited about the interactions between Naruto and certain characters but you've got to give me some time. This world building and character development take a while to work through. Well, as always, thank you for reading the chapter.


	25. Worried for the Medic

Sasuke didn't know what time it was by the time he started to regain some semblance of consciousness. However, he can clearly feel something cold pressed to his forehead - what it was, he had no idea. Though, it does feel nice and the Uchiha simply laid there comfortably. He can subconsciously feel the heat in his cheeks and the dull ache in his chest but he tried not to consciously think about it. It isn't for a while that the coldness on his face feels sweltering, nearly suffocating him with its heat. The raven-haired Uchiha lets out an uncomfortable groan, hand trying to reach of to remove whatever is on his face.

"Sasuke?" There was a soft voice beside him trying to prompt him to wake up just a little more, moving his hand away from his face.

The gennin opens his eyes sluggishly, blinking them a few times before glancing up at the other person. There is a head of unmistakable blond hair is just above him, staring at the Uchiha with worried blue eyes. "Naruto…" He mumbles out, his voice still groggy with disuse.

"Hey." The medic's voice is soothing to listen to, "Feeling okay?"

Sasuke shakes his head, wishing he hadn't almost immediately afterward; there is a headache blossoming in the back of his head, "Don't feel good."

"I see." Naruto nodded slowly, hand reaching out for the rag that was on his teammate's forehead. He could feel his friend's eyes watching his every move as the blond dunked the rag into a bowl of water before laying it back against Sasuke's face.

"I thought the poison was out." He murmured weakly, "Why am I still feeling bad?"

"Your fever spiked an hour ago, back up to 103." Naruto responded easily, "Ended up using all my ice packs on you so you've got to try to get better, alright?"

Sasuke gave a tired chuckle at the poorly placed joke, "Not funny."

He rolled his eyes, "If you want to sleep more, I've got you covered."

His teammate shook his head, "Not tired."

"I give you fifteen minutes." The medic wagged his eyebrows humorously.

"Not. Tired." Sasuke tried again, shaking his head clearly amused.

"Well, if you don't want to sleep anymore, would you like something to eat?" The blond-haired gennin pointed to the hole in the bush, "There's some leftover rabbit that I made this morning; should still be hot."

He thought for a moment before shrugging, "I guess."

Naruto was already heading for the exit before stopping and handing over a water bottle to his teammate, "Drink something, that fever might leave you dehydrated."

"Alright," Sasuke stated, uncapping the bottle and sipping some. He sat up on the sleeping bag – with a little more effort than necessary but no one needed to know that – and things in certain places that shouldn't be there. The Uchiha looked down at his body, the rag falling from his forehead, at where all the ice packs Naruto mentioned were placed.

He assumed that the medic would have put the ice packs on his chest or neck, not in the crevices of his body. Sasuke could feel his cheeks heat up in embarrassment – luckily, he could blame it on the fever. There were ice packs underneath his armpits, knees, and… near his  _groin_. That meant that Naruto had to…

"Okay, what's with the look?" The medic asked in a  bored tone, returning with some food on a skewer.

"U-Uh…" Sasuke didn't know how to function, completely baffled. He glanced at the blond and then the ice packs.

Naruto sighed, handing him the food, "Sasuke, grow up. You had a severe fever and I needed to cool you down immediately. I could have just thrown you into the river up ahead but I figured it'd be too much of a hassle letting your clothes dry while unconscious."

"But…"

"I may be bisexual but that doesn't mean I don't respect your privacy. However, I'm also a medic and you would have died had I not cooled you off." He then pointed at four spots on his body, "The forehead, the underarms, under the knees, and the groin are the best ways to cool down someone. I tried not to put anything near your groin when your fever was  _only_ at 103 but it was getting really close to 104 and I knew I had to do something more."

Sasuke felt ashamed for a moment before a smile cracked on his face, "Please stop saying groin, it sounds weird."

Naruto understood the need to change the subject and all but chuckled, "Whatever, just eat something. After that, I can see about getting some medicine in you for a better recovery."

"Yeah, yeah." He stared at the rabbit before looking back at his friend, "Thank you… for all of this."

"It's my job." The medic smiled.

Sasuke started on his food as his teammate busied himself with his bag. He took a good look at the blond-haired gennin, eyebrows furrowing in worry. Naruto looked rough, not at all like the clean-cut guy he'd come to know. His hair was unkempt and his face dirty, not to mention the flickers of blood on his clothes. "Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Whose blood is that?" He asked slowly, pointing at the spot.

Naruto's eyes slowly went down to the spot, mouth pulled into a fine line as his face lost its warmth, "It's nothing."

Okay, now he was really worried, "Naruto."

"Don't worry about it, Sasuke, it's  _nothing_." The medic responded, voice monotone.

"Obviously not." The gennin huffed, "Is it yours?"

"Sasuke-"

"No, whose blood is that?!" At the shout, he could feel the dizzy spell passing over him. Sasuke tried to tell the medic about it but his mouth choked on the words. It wasn't until his eyes glazed over that the blond finally noticed.

"Woah, hey, are you okay?" Naruto was at his side in an instant. He easily caught the Uchiha when he titled to the left too fast. He gave his teammate a once-over, "You can't overextend yourself like that." The gennin laid Sasuke down on the sleeping bag, the position helping the dizziness plaguing his head. Naruto reached over for a bottle of water and two pills, "Take these, it'll help with the fever."

"O-Okay." He mumbled shakily, allowing Naruto to help lift his head just enough to take the pills. The two sat in silence for a moment as the medic resumed what he was doing with the rag, replacing the coolness on his forehead. Sasuke sighed at the feeling, shutting his eyes in relief.

"It's a combination." Naruto eventually stated slowly.

"A combination of what?" He asked weakly.

He looked to the exit of the hollowed bush, "A combination of blood… yours, others."

"Did you get hurt?" There was a fire burning in Sasuke's eyes, looking like he might sit up but a firm hand on his chest got him to settle down.

"It's  _fine_ , maybe a flesh wound or two but I'm sure that it can be healed with medical ninjutsu." He tried to relieve the worry in his teammate but it didn't work.

"Was it those bandits?" The Uchiha whispered out, eyes skirting around the place.

After a moment, Naruto nodded, "They found all of the others – the clones, I mean – and destroyed them. Now that they knew what I looked like, they came for me… the  _original_ me." He ran a hand through his hair, sighing; he looked so much older at that moment. "I knew that they were coming for me so I hid everything outside – the food, the fire, even the entrance to this place – and I left you."

"W-Wait." There was that wide-eyed stare again, one full of fear and shock, "Are… Are you a clone?"

The medic stiffened, glancing down at his hands, "Sasuke-"

"No!" The Uchiha tried to shoot up but he was no match for the strength of the clone. He could have very well destroyed them in order to find his friend but he needed information. "Where's Naruto?!" He growled out.

"Sasuke, shut up and lay back down." The clone hissed out dangerously, startling the Uchiha who did as he was told, "There are enemies all around this place and if you so much as make too much of a noise, those bandits are going to hear you and come for us. You are in no place to fight and I can disappear within seconds at a hit."

He took a deep breath, "R-Right…"

"Naruto left a clone with you because he needed to get the bandits away from you. He left at dawn since there would be more daylight to organize an attack against them than at night where he can't see." They explained quietly, replacing the rag once more, "He's been gone for three hours."

"Do you know if he's okay?" Sasuke whispered out painfully.

"No." That one word scared the Uchiha more than anything, "However, he has to be conscious still if I'm still here."

"So, he's still alive." He breathed out.

Naruto's clone clasped their hands in their lap, "Sasuke, you have to know that this goes against everything we learned as a medic."

"Huh?"

"Medics are not supposed to be on the frontlines and if they have a patient, they are not to leave them." The clone sighed, "So when he comes back and finally dispels me, don't chaste him about his decision. He'll most likely be hard on himself for breaking that universal medic rule but he'll be relieved to see you're okay."

"What are you suggesting I do?" Sasuke asked.

They smiled warmly, "Just get better for him. Rest, nothing will happen to you, he promised."

He nodded slowly, laying back against the pillow before cracking a grin, "Twenty minutes."

"Huh?"

"I stayed awake for twenty minutes, you owe me something." Sasuke chuckled.

The clone rolled their eyes, "Whatever you say. Now sleep." He watched at the Uchiha tried to get into a comfortable position before drifting off. They continued to tend to the boy's fever as much as they could with the limited supplies.

They got to a stopping point not long after, looking from the snoozing Uchiha to the exit of the hollowed bush.  _"Boss, I know you're not stupid but you can't stay out there forever."_ The clone found themselves thinking,  _"You can't fight forever. You have to keep your chakra if you're to come back to Sasuke."_

Their words never reach their summoner's ears thirteen miles away.

Naruto flexed his hand, the ninja wire wrapped around it springing into actions. It caught around the ankles of an unfortunate bandit, launching them upside down. The string of curses that came from the man would have been humorous had the medic not felt so strung up. He was worried for Sasuke whose only defense against anyone was any energy he could muster up – which was low the last time he saw his teammate – and a clone who poofs away after a single hit.

There was a rustle somewhere behind him, the sound of feet moving leaves around on the ground. Naruto hopped away from the bush he'd been hiding in just in time to watch from a comfortable distance away as three criminals jumped forward, ready for combat. His hands glowed an ominous blue in the shadowed woods. "You don't want me to hurt you." He warned.

The bandits gave each other, mumbling about attacking a ninja being a bad idea – Naruto would have to agree – but there was one who wasn't having it. He might have been the leader because his word seemed to be law, pressuring the other two bandits into attacking him. The medic tried not to roll his eyes as he dodged easily, using his short stature to evade attacks like it was second nature.

After a while of ducking and dodging, Naruto finally had had enough of their filthy language and slow movements. He sidestepped as one launched at him, bringing down a hand and slicing open his back. The cry of pain from the man hurt his ears but he continued on as the other two dashed at him in anger.

They went down almost as fast as the other, groaning in pain as their blood tinged the forest's floor.

Naruto watched with a pained heart, hopping to the trees for reassurance. When he became a medic, he promised to save lives, not take them. The blond knew that, from the injuries he'd inflicted on all of the bandits he's fought so far, they would not survive without medical attention.

But they were after him and, if he hadn't taken care of them quickly, they would have been after Sasuke as well.

"Well, what do we have here?" A thick voice spoke from in front of him, halting the medic's movements almost immediately.

Naruto stared at the foliage with a stern eye, hand raising, "Kai."

The genjutsu dispelled revealing a man in his late twenties. He chuckled mockingly, "Well, aren't you full of surprises?" When the blond-haired gennin didn't reply the man shrugged. "Not much of a talker are you?" He raised an eyebrow but didn't expect a response this time, "Alright, well, since you won't talk, hopefully, you'll listen. Those bandits you've got littering the forest were my friends. I was traveling with them and you've cut down  _every single one_."

Naruto could feel his jaw clenching.

"And since you're just a kid with a headband, you must be a gennin. As a gennin, that means you've got a team and a sensei." The man pulls out a kunai, simply spinning it around in his palm, "However, you're all by yourself. Either they left you here, are around the area and you've just found yourself some trouble, or you're just a loner."

The medic watched as he moved closer, taking a precautious step backward. The seasoned ninja watched his movements, "I like you. Too bad I'm going to have to kill you."

Within a second to spar, a fist connected with Naruto's lower abdomen. Despite the air being completely knocked out of his lungs, the man did not let up. A hand reached for the boy's throat, squeezing it momentarily before throwing him out of the trees. The medic tumbled a good foot or two as the ninja joined him on the ground.

Naruto was back on his feet in an instant, hands lighting up in blue as the man came back for another hit. He crossed his arms just in time for a fist coming his way. The medic wouldn't lie that his heart was pounding, fear lingering in his veins.

He watched the man hop back, staring at his hand in amazement and pain. The ninja's knuckles were dripping with blood, exposing the bone just a little bit. Watchful eyes stared pointedly at Naruto, "You're no ordinary kid." He was gone, appearing behind the medic before swiping his legs out from underneath him.

Everything slowed down as Naruto felt himself tilting sideways, falling towards the ground almost comically. The kunai glinted in the mid-day sunlight, slamming down into his lung with a force; it was unlike anything he'd ever felt. The man grinned manically, pushing it deeper into his body, getting a pained gasp from the teenager. "How does it feel now?" He asks humorously.

"Fuck  _off_." Naruto hissed, a tanned hand shooting up to the ninja's hair and gripping it tightly. Wide eyes stared back at him as he ignited the blue glow against his forearm. He gave the man one more look before swiping his hand against his chest. What he didn't expect was for the ninja to move backward, the sharp glow cutting his trachea in an instant.

"ACK!" The ninja stumbled backward, hands clamping over his throat, tears pooling in his eyes. Naruto watched in horror as the blood spewed out of the wound and from the man's mouth. He gagged around the crimson liquid, curling against himself as he bled out.

The medic was frozen as he watched the man die, shuddering out his last breath before ultimately collapsing completely. The forest was eerily quiet after the deaths of so many, poisoned by the bloodshed hidden in the foliage. Naruto felt his eyes burn, ashamed of himself for all the death he's caused.

He took a shaky breath, remembering that there is still a kunai buried within his lung. The blond-haired gennin sat up just enough to get a good look at the wound. The blood pouring out was minimal, probably filling up the space within the hallowedness of his lung. He wrapped a tanned hand around the handle of the kunai, the bare minimum of movement bringing out a groan of pain.

"F-Fuck…" He whimpered, moving his hand away from the kunai. Naruto reached into his back pocket for an extra rag before stuffing it in his mouth.  _"You've got this."_ The blond told himself, reaching for the handle once more,  _"You can do this."_ His palms were shaking and his lungs felt like they were on fire. The medic let out a muffled shout of pain as he started to pull the kunai out.

He felt dizzy from the pain, throat tickling from something trying to come up. No, he  _cannot_ throw up right now, he has to get this done.  _"Come on, Naruto, come on."_ His mind called out. Naruto felt tears pooling in his eyes as he dragged the kunai out some more; halfway there. Blood was starting to stream down his chest, soaking the clothes surrounding the wound.

Sasuke is going to kill him when he sees this.

Naruto finally lets loose a scream as the kunai was finally out of his chest. His lung deflated slightly, making easy-breathing all the harder. The sharp object was thrown to the side, a hand coming to clamp over the wound as the rag finally came out of the medic's mouth. The blond wheezed painfully, eyes clenching shut. "Fuck…" He cursed again.

The medic crawled over to a tree to just relax as he recovered. The hand over his stab wound glowed a soft green as Naruto healed himself. His lung inflated joyously as the medical ninjutsu sealed the cut over it before all the external wounds were fixed. Despite this, the blond-haired gennin knew that he'd have to force himself to cough out all the blood that could have collected in his lung.

For the moment, Naruto just allowed himself to heal and relax a little bit. He took a deep breath – now that he could – and looked back to the body of the man he'd just killed. Guilt filled his poor heart once more, blood still pooling out of the ninja's body. Naruto wondered if those he'd killed today had a family waiting for them somewhere.

There's movement somewhere in the forests ahead of him. He groaned quietly, not wanting to get up yet as well as his chest not being completely healed yet. However, Naruto had to keep moving if there were any more people. He gave the lifeless body one more stare before bouncing towards the tree branches above.

Not even a minute later, there is a shriek of sorrow following the discovery of the murdered man and Naruto cannot help but shed a tear or two.

A wracking cough pulled him towards the matter at hand. He groaned in pain, continuing to close the entrance wound with medical ninjutsu. The medic coughed until his throat felt raw, feeling the warm liquid on his hand before his eyes could identify it as blood. It's a good sign, really. You never want to have blood dry on the inside of your lungs so getting it out as fast as possible is the best way to go, even if it hurts.

Naruto sighed, stopping a moment to lean against the trunk of a tree. The wound was finally healed but the ache from the attack stayed with him. He couldn't stay here and wait for the pain to pass; it was a two-hour run back to where Sasuke and his clone were. The medic stared at the foliage ahead; he's so tired, exhausted maybe. He's got to keep going, he can't stop.

"Alright, Naruto, hop to it." He tried to hype himself up as his legs kicked into gear again,  _"You can do this."_

"You've been staring a lot." Sasuke stated, looking a lot better than he had earlier, "You're worried about Naruto."

"And you're not?" The clone questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, I'm worried!" He looked offended, a stern eye glaring at the clone, "I'm trying to hope for the best because you're still here which means that Naruto's okay."

They shook their head, hand running through their hair, "Just because he's conscious doesn't mean that he's not hurt."

Understanding flashed in the Uchiha's eyes, "Oh… you don't think he's hurt, do you?"

"I  _hope_ not." The clone sighed heavily before turning towards their teammate, "Checkup; how do you feel?"

"Not as tired as before but definitely still sore." He gave the clone a smile.

"Well, let's check your fever one more time." He handed the thermometer over to Sasuke who wordlessly put it under his tongue. They waited in silence, sometimes both taking the chance to look to the exit in case the original Naruto was to appear. After a moment, the thermometer beeped.

Sasuke pulled it out of his mouth and tilted his head, "100.7… is that still bad?"

"If by bad you mean still feverish then, yes, you still have a fever." The clone stated, "Just keep that rag over your head and try to relax. Until that fever is down, you're not traveling."

"I'm not traveling unless Naruto comes back." He said defiantly.

"I wasn't saying it like that." They rolled their eyes, "I know you want to hop up and find out where the original me is as soon as possible but, right now, you've got to worry about yourself."

Sasuke looked down at his hands in his lap, "It's… it's kind of hard to since Naruto left to protect me. He could be hurt or lost and-"

"He's a medic, anything that hurts him, he can just fix." The clone stated, laying a hand on their teammate's shoulder, squeezing it slightly, "Is there anything I can do to help you… not worry about Naruto?"

"I don't know… maybe just keep talking to me." He suggested.

"What, like twenty questions?" The clone scoffed, amusement in their eyes.

Sasuke choked on his laugh, "Absolutely not, I don't need to know everything about Naruto."

"Well, then what?"

He thought for a moment before just shrugging, looking defeated, "I'm sorry, this isn't working."

"It's okay, he'll be okay." The clone smiled warmly.

"I just… Naruto's the closest thing I have to a brother and I… I can't lose him like… l-like how I lost my c-clan." Sasuke whispered, eyes distant and cold, "He's been there f-for me through everything after we became f-friends. We can talk about anything-"

"But not anything like twenty questions." They murmured, getting an amused eye roll from the boy.

He didn't mind the distraction from such a sensitive topic. Sasuke rubbed his face before looking at the clone once more, "Can you tell me about how you… um, saved me?"

"How we got the poison out?" The clone rephrased, getting a slow nod from the other, "Well, it wasn't easy and it took hours to even make a dent in the toxins in your body."

"Did Naruto sleep afterward?" Sasuke asked.

"No," They started, noticing how the raven-haired gennin tensed, "he was too worried about the news of bandits in the area as well as tending to the fever you had after the treatment."

"Oh."

The carbon-copy of Naruto sighed, "Boss-man figured that the poison used on you was venom-based."

"So?"

"Venom-based poisons can only be healed through an antivenin made by milking the venom from the snake or other venomous animals that it might have come from." The clone explained, "However, the Demon Brothers – the ones who poisoned you – were from the Land of the Waves and almost definitely used a snake's venom from their homeland; we were almost five hours walk from there. There would have been no way to get a snake, milk it for venom, and make an antivenin had we walked the entire way there."

Sasuke blinked in understanding, "That's why he let the team go on ahead… for me."

"Don't look so sad. It's his job to help people and you needed help." The clone smiled.

"Well, if he couldn't make an antivenin, how'd he get the poison out?" He raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Delicate illness extraction technique." At the confused stare, they continued, "It is a very uncommon way of getting the poison out of the body and is very rarely used on minors since it hadn't had a very good track record for success rates. The severe fever you got after the extraction would be an instance of that."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "And… and how does it work?"

"Well, the medic at hand has to find where the poison ended up in your body by following the pathways of your veins. At the endpoint, they are to make an incision cut." The clone took the time to point to the small – albeit mostly healed – scab on the gennin's chest, "This was the exit wound for the poison to follow."

"What, did you just let the poison drain out?" He raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"No, it was much more painful than that." The clone watched Sasuke's face pale, "By using a water-based mixture, Naruto pushed it into the affected area, using the mixture to trail it through your veins and out the exit wound."

He nodded dumbly, "I was unconscious for that, right?"

"Mostly."

"Wow… Naruto's amazing." He mumbled, mostly to himself than the clone.

They nodded despite this, "I'll take the compliment since Boss-man isn't here to accept it."

Sasuke snorted at the comment, laying back against the sleeping bag, hands underneath his head, "Did he always want to be a medic?"

"No."

"Then what he'd want to be when he got older?" He questioned, curious about his best friend's life.

"Hokage."

"What?! No way…" The raven-haired gennin gasped, "You're serious?"

The clone chuckled, "Well, yeah, I'm kind of  _him_."

He rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

"No thanks, we've only just started twenty questions." They hummed contently.

"No, we haven't." Sasuke gave the clone a weird look.

"You've already asked me like four questions so I'm considering these twenty questions." The carbon-copy of the medic laughed quietly.

"Wow, congratulations." Sasuke rolled his eyes, taking a deep breath, "Proud of yourself?"

"Five questions now, but yeah, I'm proud of Naruto." The clone smiled brightly.

After a moment of silence, Sasuke tilted his head, "Is being a clone weird?"

They thought for a second before shrugging, "Sort of? It's only weird when we disappear and Boss-man gets all of our memories so it's like we've just lived two different lives for however long I'm here."

"That does sound weird." He hummed, not noticing the clone stiffen up, "Well, what about-"

Within an instant, the clone was gone with a small puff of smoke. Sasuke eyes widen, staring at the spot where Naruto's copy was. He could feel his heart starting to race as he sat up, looking around the hollowed bush.

Nothing.

There was movement outside – if the extra sound of wind and shuffle of leaves was anything to go on. He froze, gulping back the worry and fear bubbling up in his chest. The raven-haired gennin clenched his fists, heading for the exit; he has to know.

Upon sticking his head out of the hollowed bush, Sasuke could only see one person standing there. Blood covered the entirety of the teen's chest, shirt ruined but the warm smile and blond hair was unmistakable in the mid-day light. The Uchiha clambered out of the bush, dashing towards him as quickly as he could.

He pulled the medic into his arms quickly, squeezing him in relief, "You're so stupid, dobe."

Naruto laughed wetly, "Yeah, yeah I kind of am." He returned the hug, breathing his friend in. "I'm sorry." His whisper was muffled by Sasuke's shirt, "I should have told you what was happening instead of leaving you in the dark."

"No… no, you don't have to apologize. I understand, I just…" He pulled away to look at the blood covering the medic's chest. The blond-haired gennin glanced down to stare as well. "Is it yours?" Sasuke mumbled out.

"Y-Yeah."

"Are you okay?" He asked instead.

He gave the Uchiha a warm smile, "Of course."

Sasuke's eyes pierced his soul, "Are you sure?"

"Of course." Naruto smiled, pulling his best friend back into a reassuring hug; Kami knows he needs it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I know I said that there wasn't going to be a chapter today but I just had so much writing inspiration so I finished editing this chapter so that it could be out to you folks by tonight. I've had so much fun writing the clones as well as my version of Sasuke. I hope that he's not too out-of-character to the Sasuke I've written at the beginning of this chapter. Please tell me what you think about the 'Naruto-saves-Sasuke' mini-arc and thank you for reading today's chapter!


	26. Not Enough

Being a clone was weird, as one had explained to Sasuke earlier in the day.

One minute you're not there and the next, you're standing in plain view with a picture-perfect memory of every event that has led up to your existence. You, as a clone, were your own person… except you're not? You are simply a manifestation of chakra that can be created and destroyed. Your summoner brought you there for a purpose and you were to fulfill it to the best of your abilities.

However, being a clone that was summoned only to be sealed away for future use was weirder than usual. Your physical display of a body is destroyed completely – stored for later, as Kakashi had put it – while allowing the chakra used to create you simply circling around in whatever container you were being held in.

And, in the instance that you are to be resummoned, it feels as though you've only just been created instead of having been designed only a few hours ago. You wear whatever your creator has on right now, remember exactly what has been happening elsewhere in the world, and know exactly what to do, how to serve your purpose in this world.

So, it was  _weird_ to be resummoned again.

And it was even stranger to be resummoned in front of a battle-ridden Sakura.

"What's going on?" They ushered out quickly, hand already quivering in anxiety as they reached for the kunoichi.

She pulled back from their reach and instead going to clasp their hands worriedly, bottom lip quivering, "Naruto,  _please_ , it's bad."

"I guess now would be the time to leave." A monotone voice called out, standing near a fallen body. The clone whipped their head out to stare at the newcomer, eyes locking onto a mask. Just below them was another unconscious – but definitely not dead despite how he might have look – man with many open wounds. Without another word, the person left with the man's body.

The clone didn't know what to say, frozen in time and space, "Who was that?"

"I don't know." Sakura whispered out weakly, "But the guy, the one on the ground was this Zabuza guy and he um…" She couldn't speak anymore.

The clone nodded dumbly, taking their time looking around, eyes locking on their client. From where Naruto's clone stood, they could tell that the older man was wounded, leaning exhaustedly against a tree. There was blood trailing down the side of his face and made it to where one of his eyes had to close from the flow of the crimson liquid. Tazuna had a few cut marks on the outside of one of his arms, obviously defensive wounds. He clutched the arm close to his chest, breathing deeply as the blood soaked into his dirty shirt.

This probably wasn't very good for his health, being an alcoholic and all.

The blond turned towards their teammate, looking her up and down for any injuries she might have sustained. The medic's clone felt his features tighten, an anger uncanny to anything they'd ever felt bubbling in their chest. Her wrist was twisted in an odd angle, being held close to her chest as to not further upset the broken bone. Sakura's face was bloody and bruised from a possible fist fight with a swollen eye and split lip. The back of her calf was bleeding and there was multiple discolorations littering her small frame.

"Sakura-" The clone tried again, but at the rise of her hand, they stopped. They found themselves wanting to just pull her into a reassuring hug to ease their heart – if they even had one since, you know, they're just chakra.  _"What have you gotten yourselves into?"_ They thought to themselves.

The pink-haired gennin shook her head wearily, green eyes rimmed with tears, "Don't worry about us. It's… oh Kami, it's Kakashi-sensei."

"What…?" With their eyes wide, they followed the kunoichi's side-glance to the broken body on the ground. The two gennins disconnected their hands as Naruto's clone dashed over to their fallen Jonnin teacher.

Kakashi was unconscious, a pained expression on his face. The clone waved their hand over his body, trying to get a better idea of any injuries he'd sustained. The soft glow of green wasn't as soothing as it might have been in any other situation, just a color of distress during this time. Sakura was at the clone's side after a few painful movements, "How bad is it?"

"It's…" The clone wasn't sure what to say, still searching out his teacher's body for the full run-down. A severe concussion, internal bleeding, a liquid in the lungs – probably from a recent drowning, the clone mused – severe bruising in the upper body and arms, a fractured kneecap, seven broken ribs, and a long slash across his upper chest which was definitely going to need stitches. They took a deep breath, "I need to get him someplace where I can operate."

"O-Operate?" Sakura looked shocked, "Does that mean surgery?"

"Yes, he's internally bleeding and that needs to be sewed up immediately." The clone stated, looking over to their client.

The pink-haired gennin looked bewildered, "Wait, can't you um… just heal him with chakra?"

"I can't do that if I only have a limited amount of chakra that's keeping me alive." They shook their head, looking defeated, "I would heal everything wrong with you three if I could, but I just don't have enough chakra… I'm sorry."

Sakura's face morphed into distraught, "It's… It's okay." It was most certainly  _not_ okay and everyone knew that, even herself. She wouldn't lie that she felt immense anger towards their situation; they should have never split up, they're a team… they're not supposed to leave one another.

They're a family.

Instead of commenting on it, the clone turned towards their client, "How is your arm, Tazuna-san?"

He waved boredly, already starting to stand up with assistance from the tree, "Don't worry about me kid, help your sensei out. These are nothing but flesh wounds."

"I can't just  _not_ worry about them." The clone rolled their blue eyes before looking at the man, "Do you have a home nearby where I can operate on Kakashi-sensei?"

"Of course, we've got a spare room upstairs where you can keep him," Tazuna stated, limping over to the two gennins and their fallen teacher – maybe a sprained ankle.

"Alright. Sakura, I need you to do something for me." The clone started, looking over to the frightened kunoichi; they couldn't even imagine what was going on in her head.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I'm going to need you to help Tazuna-san back to the house and I'll handle Kakashi-sensei. Once I get there, you're going to need to patch up yourself and Tazuna-san while I'm dealing with Kakashi-sensei." They explained coolly, already starting to put his hands underneath the man's arms and back, "Do you understand?"

"I…" She was still going through the motions of shock, the clone knew, "N-Naruto, I… I have no idea how to do that. I'm not t-trained… I can't-"

The clone shushed her warmly, standing back up. Naruto's clone carried the man easily, before looking at his teammate, "It's okay, just stay in the room with me and I'll walk you through it."

The only female gennin on their team watched them start to walk away from all the blood and gore from where Kakashi had been previously, trying not to gag. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes but Sakura nodded fiercely, "A-Alright."

Without a word, she limped towards their client, throwing her arm behind his back as he supported their combined weight. They nodded to each other and headed for Tazuna's home, their client leading the way. Naruto's clone walked behind the two with Kakashi in his arms.

"Where's Sasuke and the um… the original you?" Tazuna asked after a moment or two of awkward and tense silence, "Or do you only remember everything up until you were, you know… summoned the first time?"

"No, I remember everything that has transpired elsewhere." Sakura's head twisted around to look at the clone with wide eyes, questions swirling around her head. The clone gave the two a look, knowing the first inquiry that was on the tip of their tongues, "They are on their way to the Land of Waves now so, don't worry too much."

"Are they okay?" The pink-haired kunoichi in front of them ushered out quickly.

"Naruto had sustained a pretty devastating wound upon fighting a ninja in the area who had been traveling with bandits. Though, it has since been healed by medical ninjutsu. As for Sasuke, the poison is out of his system but he was dealing with a severe fever for the majority of the time." The clone replied quietly, "I'm sure that Boss-man can give you more details when he gets here."

Tazuna tilted his head, "And how long will that be?"

They thought for a moment, "I give it a few hours… two or three to be exact."

"Oh Kami… d-do you think that um… that Kakashi-sensei will m-make it?" Sakura voiced out tearfully.

"Of course." The clone reassured without a second thought.

Kakashi had to make it, he just had to.

Their client pointed in front of them where a dirt road sat undisturbed, "My home should be just ahead."

"Does anyone else live there?" The clone questioned.

"Yes, my daughter and grandson." He stated, looking nostalgic for a moment before it was wiped away completely, "It'll be nice to see them again."

"I hate that they have to see you like this." Naruto's clone stated sympathetically, "Well, do you mind doing the talking while I get everything situated with Kakashi-sensei?"

Tazuna rolled his eyes, "Already planned on doing that."

"Sakura, how's that cut on your leg? Do you feel dizzy at all?" The clone asked, observing the two-story house that appeared before them. It was nothing grand and there were more than a few holes here or there but there were attempts at repairs.

"No, I… It feels fine, a little sore but I think it's stopped bleeding." She spoke in a shaky manner, before confirming her suspicions upon looking behind her, "It's just my wrist that hurts a lot."

The clone bobbed their head in understanding, "I'm going to give the both of you some heavy pain medication for your injuries until Boss-man gets here with some medical ninjutsu. You'll need to eat something before taking it."

"My daughter, Tsunami, should be inside preparing lunch so I'll ask if you can have some." Tazuna gave the girl a forced smile. Naruto's clone gave the man a look; they probably didn't have a lot of supplies to be feeding hungry ninjas.

"O-Okay."

Tazuna took the lead, opening the front door. His daughter, a beautiful young woman with long, dark hair stared in disbelief at the state her father was in. Tsunami almost shrieked, dropping whatever was in her hand to come rush over to him, "F-Father!"

"It's okay, Tsunami, but we really need to get out of the doorway. Big guy over here got his ass handed to him." Their client voiced quickly, pushing his daughter carefully over to the side. The two watched as Naruto's clone climbed the stairs in a haste. "Guest room is on the left!" Tazuna shouted out after a moment, watching the two disappear, still not believing that a scrawny kid like them could carry an adult male.

"Father, your a-arms…" The dark-haired woman whispered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"It'll be okay, this young lady is going to help me." He reassured, looking down at Sakura who only nodded dumbly.

"I'll um… get a first aid kit a-and I bet you're both hungry um…" Tsunami looked distressed, not sure what to do in this situation.

Tazuna freed one of his hands to lay it on her shoulder, "Sweetheart, it's okay. We'll just be up in the guest room. Little dude's going to help us through the process."

"Alright..."

"Come on, Tazuna-san." Sakura ushered quietly, the two helping each other up the stairs despite both of their legs hurting. However, upon creaking the door open, the two hadn't expected Naruto's clone to slam it in their faces rather rudely.

"What the hell, kid?!" Tazuna growled out, about to march right in and throw some hands.

"Listen, I don't know if you're queasy around blood but you should know that Kakashi-sensei's wounds are  _not_ pretty so please cover your eyes and make your way over to the other side of the room." The clone explained breathlessly, "And make sure not to face me while I'm working; like I said, not pretty stuff here."

"…alright," Tazuna stated gruffly, opening the door once more. The room rank with blood and even when both of them gagged, they still did not look to where the guest bed was where Kakashi was sure to be. They headed for a table in the room, sitting down heavily in the chairs but they still did not look at Naruto's clone or the injured body there.

"Naruto, what do I do?" Sakura asked quietly, trying not to hear the ripping of cloth behind her.

Naruto's clone continued to cut and rip the fabric over Kakashi's chest after having removed his Jonnin vest. "Alright, I want you to look at Tazuna-san's arm closely. I know there's a lot of blood and gore but you need a good look at it." The clone responded, digging through their medic bag, "Tell me if you see white."

"Um… okay?" She murmured, confused. Their client lifted up his injured arm for her to view, showing the long cut that continued to ooze crimson liquid. Naruto's clone was right about the blood and gore – if she made a few gagging noises, no one said anything – but searched for anything. "Is there supposed to be something white here?" Sakura asked after a second or two, mildly concerned.

"I'm assuming that means you don't see anything." They stated, the sound of latex gloves being pulled on filling the mostly quiet room, "That's good, just means that the bone isn't showing."

The kunoichi's features paled significantly, not like the clone could see, "W-What do I do n-next?"

The single manifestation of chakra lifted their head, taking three big steps to the other side of the room to give the wound a look, "It's going to need stitches."

"That deep?" Tazuna asked.

"It's deep but you don't need stitches at the moment." The clone stated, "Hold on for a moment, I'm going to grab some stuff."

"But you just said I needed them." The man gave the blond an exasperated look.

The clone continued to rummage through their bag, pulling out a roll of cloth and some cotton before coming back, "You'll need stitches eventually but I'll let Boss-man handle that when he gets back. Give me your arm."

"Well, be careful with it, hurts like a bitch." Tazuna hissed.

Naruto's clone rolled his eyes, "If it still hurts, just means that you're alive so, congratulations."

The man snorted at the poorly placed joke, jerking her arm a little when the clone started to stuff the wound with cotton, "What the hell are you doing to me?"

"I need to stop the bleeding until this can be stitched up properly." They explained quickly, pressing the cotton further into the deeper parts of the injury, "Sakura, do you mind changing these bandages for him every hour while I work, just until I'm free or Boss-man comes back?"

"Um… yeah, of c-course." She whispered, shock-shelled.

The clone and Tazuna shared a look but didn't respond. Naruto's summon unrolled the bandages, surrounding the cotton-filled wound thoroughly. "Sakura, I'm not going to be able to do anything for your wrist right now so you're going to have to bear through the pain, okay?" They said sympathetically, "I have to preserve my chakra for the operation."

The kunoichi gulped, still looking pale, "But you're going to give me something for the pain."

"Of course." The clone pulled out a bottle, "Take two with food every three hours and try not to upset any of your wounds. Stay low to the ground, don't go walking around; just stay put until Boss-man gets here. If anything drastic starts to happen with your injuries, come to me immediately."

"Right." Tazuna nodded, standing up and heading for the door, "Come on, Sakura, there is a couch calling out names downstairs."

She nodded weakly, getting up from the chair on shaky legs, "Can you um… give me a moment?" He looked between the two gennins before nodding, leaving the room. "Naruto…" Sakura started, tears pooling in her eyes.

The clone furrowed his eyebrows, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, you're going to be okay."

"Them too?" The pink-haired girl whispered out, leaning in for a hug.

"Naruto and Sasuke are going to be fine. They'll be here soon and we'll get your wrist fixed up." They smiled warmly, pulling her in closer, just trying to comfort the kunoichi as much as they could. The clone couldn't imagine what all Sakura had to endure or witness; she must have been so scared.

"And Kakashi-sensei?" She sniffled.

The clone gave her a look, fierce with determination, "I will do my best."

Sakura took a shaky breath, stepping away from him before heading for the door. She stopped, worrying her lip, looking at them, "Promise me?"

"I…" The clone looked down.

She nodded in understanding, wiping the tears away, "I know… you can't." Sakura left without another word, heading downstairs.

"I'm sorry." They mumbled out to the cold air before turning back to their teacher who laid unconscious on the cheap bed. Naruto's clone waved a green hand over Kakashi, seeing if he'd gotten worse while he was dealing with their client and Sakura. They heaved a heavy sigh; he did.

The internal bleeding had not stopped and it needed to be fixed pronto. The concussion could be dealt with when he wakes up, something that the original Naruto would probably fare better with than a mere clone like themselves. The liquid in his lungs could probably stay for now – but not for long as it would cause an infection – since the clone didn't have chakra in their body, meaning that they didn't have very much time to operate.

The bruising, fractured kneecap, and broken ribs could all be fixed later when the original Naruto was back with the team.

The clone took a deep breath, gripping his hair and pulled it back with the black headband they'd kept on their person; Sakura still refused to take it back from the original Naruto since his date with Shikamaru. They stripped the jacket from their shoulders, sleeves being rolled up to their forearms. A medical mask was dragged from a pocket from their bag. With practiced ease, the mask was placed on their face as to not infect the wounded body with any germs that the clone might have accumulated during his short existence.

Seriousness filled their eyes as the clone got to work. Naruto's summon gripped for a tray hidden in the back of their medic bag, setting it up on the foot of the bed – it being the only open spot – before dumping the needed surgical equipment onto the sterile area. The clone was about to start the operation when the door opened up; it was Tsunami.

"Um… I know that you're w-working right now but…" Her eyes were stuck on the floor, face pale, "Would you like something to eat?"

"No, thank you. I don't need to eat." The clone could see the young woman about to start up but he held up his hand, "I'm not real – I'm a clone – therefore, I don't need to eat."

Her face flushed – possibly from embarrassment – as she went to shut the door, "Oh… well, then, I am so sorry to have disturbed you."

They nodded before turning back to Kakashi's body. The clone waved another hand over Kakashi's body, searching for the exact spot where the bleeding was; lower large intestines. It'll be an easy fix… so long as the others in the room don't disturb the clone with questions.

Stepping away from the patient – that one word sounded so foul in their mind – Naruto's clone squatted in front of their medic bag, digging through it once more. A portable tank of anesthesia was pulled up to the clone's face, examining the labels. On a constant cycle, the anesthesia would only last for an hour and a half but the clone was sure that they could make it last for two hours at most. They'd have to make sure to turn the anesthesia one and off with certain intervals.

They started to set it up, placing the portable mask that comes with it over Kakashi's mouth and nose. As they continued getting ready for the operation, the clone tried not to think about how they – as in Naruto, the medic – failed the team; chose to only save one, killed dozens of people during that time, and left three injured people to the elements.

They were a bad medic and deserved to have their license stripped from them; they'd broken the rules and it was time to pay.

 _"No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end."_  Naruto chose Sasuke over the lives of his team and their client. They – the clone and their summoner – did not think of the troubles the group would have faced when they left.

Their party members lives could have ended this day without the help from their only medic.

"No medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines." Naruto had trained so hard in finding ways to never be found on the front lines, even went as far as to say that his clones fighting side-by-side with his teammates against the bad guys wouldn't have broken this rule.

He could have sent dozens of his clones out to fight against the bandits but he chose not to. The blond found that it would have helped he and Sasuke's situation had Naruto just been the one to drag those bandits away from their group. However, medics weren't allowed on the front lines and he'd broken it despite there being other ways to help them.

"No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon." Naruto was ready to give up his life just to make sure that Sasuke would be okay. And because of that mindset, it didn't even bother him that he could have died when that ninja stabbed his chest. He could have died that night and it didn't even bother him.

"Only those medic ninja who have mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique of the ninja art Creation Rebirth are permitted to discard the above-mentioned laws." Naruto wasn't strong and had no right to break the rules.

The clone sighed, staring at his teacher once more. "You're going to be okay." They whispered out, staring at their shaky hands, "We're going to be okay." Naruto's clone turned towards the broken window. Reaching for a scalpel, the clone couldn't stop his train of thoughts,  _"They're okay."_

Everything's okay…

…but it's not, not really.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – I'm not that happy with this chapter but I do enjoy writing from a clone's perspective. Despite saying that you readers weren't going to be getting more perspectives from clones, I couldn't help myself. It's just too much fun, really. This chapter was shorter than the previous ones I've posted these last few weeks but I assume that it won't matter much since I've been updating quite frequently.
> 
> I almost didn't post anything today because I'm been sad and mopey as my boyfriend leaves for Mexico today and I'm not ready to see him go. No, he's not leaving forever; he'll be back once school starts again but I just… I miss him when he leaves the country to see his extended family. It's hard for me to want to do anything so if I just randomly stop updating, sorry about that, I'm still being sad and mopey.
> 
> Sorry for the long author's note; I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	27. Here for You

Naruto didn't know what he expected when he finally went back to the small hollowed bush where his sickly teammate was sure to be waiting. Images flashed through his head, conversations between his clone and Sasuke as well as how the clone took care of the Uchiha. It brought an aching worry to rest since he knew that his teammate was well cared for.

"Thank you… for all of this." Sasuke had said to the clone at the time.

The clone had simply just smiled at the Uchiha, "It's my job."

And how worried Sasuke had been upon seeing the blood on his clone, to see the worry and angry blooming on his face was definitely a sight to see. His poor, sickly teammate had practically made his condition worse when trying to force the answer out of his clone; Naruto almost felt bad but he was just grateful that someone was there for Sasuke when he started to feel worse. However…

Naruto worried his lip in shame; he should have known that his teammate – a genius by all standards – would figure it all out.

"W-Wait." The fear and shock in Sasuke's eyes were enough to fill the medic's heart with guilt; the Uchiha looked disappointed for a moment there, "Are… Are you a clone?"

"Sasuke-" His clone had tried to hide it, tried to keep it up like they were the original in the situation but both he and his clone shouldn't have underestimated the raven-haired gennin's perception of people.

"No! Where's Naruto?!" And yet Sasuke fought to know the truth, eyes searching the area just in case his teammate would be there. The feeling of immense shame from the clone filled Naruto's core as he relived the memories. The Uchiha tried to shoot up from his seat – about to go out into the wilderness and drag back the medic – but the clone made sure he stayed down, rested until he was well.

"Do you know if he's okay?"

"Boss…" Naruto stilled just outside of the hollowed bush, seeing movement from inside. The thoughts from his clone filled his mind once more, "…I know you're not stupid…" He could have rolled his eyes at that but was so caught in the memories that it didn't faze him very much "…but you can't stay out there forever. You can't fight forever." Naruto stared at his hands, seeing the blood there. "You have to keep your chakra if you're to come back to Sasuke."

"I did come back." The blond murmured to himself, staring up just in time to see the Uchiha pop his head out. Sasuke stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Dark eyes went up and down his body, bottom lip quivering in worry; the blood, Naruto was still covered in blood – his and others.

Instead of just standing there like a distress call, the medic gave his teammate a warm smile. It's no wonder why Sasuke clambered out of the bush, dashing over to him with a haste so unlike him; it was almost as if they hadn't seen each other in forever. Naruto let himself be pulled in a desperate hug, feeling his teammate squeeze him with desperation.

"You're so stupid, dobe." Despite how he might have reacted in previous times, Naruto couldn't even imagine correcting his best friend on whatever term of endearment he used. Sasuke was okay and that was what mattered;  _he_ did that for  _him_.

The medic couldn't remember tearing up, so emotional over everything that had gone wrong on their first C-ranked mission. He could have laughed at the irony of it all. His medical ninjutsu and prowess were needed almost immediately into the mission, the team was split up on his command, Sasuke's condition taking a turn for the worse, and, oh yeah, he just killed about two dozen bandits and at least a Chunnin-level ninja.

He returned the hug, laughing wetly, "Yeah, yeah I kind of am." The two of them stood there, breathing each other in as daylight just started to shine through the tree line. Sasuke smelled like sweat and unsolved issues; Naruto couldn't even fathom how horrible he probably smelled. "I'm sorry." The medic whispered, the noise muffled by his best friend's shirt, "I should have told you what was happening instead of leaving you in the dark."

"No… no, you don't have to apologize. I understand, I just…" Sasuke pulled away – probably for the best, he probably didn't smell very good – and stared at the blood covering Naruto's chest; definitely not a good look on him. The blond-haired gennin glanced down to stare as well, hiding his shame and guilt rather well. "Is it yours?" Sasuke mumbled out, those three words stabbing him in the chest; it was worse than when that ninja had done the same.

Well, maybe not physically, but definitely mentally.

"Y-Yeah."

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked instead of continuing an early argument about 'whose-blood-is-whose'; his teammate was eternally grateful.

Naruto gave the Uchiha a warm smile in appreciation, "Of course." It was a lie, it would always be okay. The thought of being okay after everything that had happened on this mission was so far away; he was going to change after this, the medic was so sure of it.

His best friend's eyes pierced his soul, "Are you sure?"

"Of course." Despite everything – the pain, the worry, the agony, the blood, the tears – Naruto smiled, full of teeth and sunshine, before pulling his best friend back into a reassuring hug.

The reassurance wasn't just for Sasuke, it was for himself as well.

In his time as a medic, he had practically seen everything through the eyes of a doctor whether it be burn wounds or dead bodies, it was always there. Hundreds and hundreds of bodies later, Naruto was still walking around with smiles and laughter, haunted by the dull, dead eyes that stared back at him. He'd never pulled the plugs on those victims, never taken a life before.

Until now, of course, he'd taken so many in one night. All the families that those bandits – and the ninja, of course – could have had hurt Naruto's heart. He murdered them, all for one person… but that was okay because Sasuke was going to be fine, healthy and definitely alive…

He was alive because of Naruto and that's all he could have asked for; it's his job, after all, to save lives and he saved Sasuke's.

The Uchiha's fever had disappeared almost completely upon the medic's return from the wilderness, Naruto had found. The two took that time in the early morning light to pack up their bags and head for the road two miles out. Sasuke insisted that they start running if they wanted to catch up to their team but his teammate suggested they take it slow since the Uchiha was still getting over an illness; better not push their luck.

So, they walked through the forest without worry of bandits attacking – thank you, Naruto – and simply just talked. It wasn't about anything on this mission or wondering how their team was doing, just about what was going on in the other's life.

Sasuke had a hobby of reading and enjoyed drinking tea late at night. Naruto explained his fondness for meditating during stressful times in his life and how his relationship with Shikamaru was doing. It a soft moment for each other, really cementing their friendship into something more familial: brothers.

During that time, the remaining Uchiha tried not to question what happened to his best friend while dealing with the bandits and the medic was eternally grateful for that; he wasn't ready to open up about it. There were times when the black-haired teenager would stare at Naruto with a frown on his face and furrowed eyebrows, dark eyes full of worry and curiosity but he never acted on it.

Naruto and Sasuke had finally taken off from their hiding spot in that hollowed bush, the former of the two looking a lot better since his poisoning after a few hours of walking, when the last remaining clone in the plane of existence finally died off.

Just like how clones were such an enigma in the balance of life – sentient beings who breathe and walk like everyone else – those that dispel disrupt the flow of thought for the summoner.

Naruto was no different.

He still wasn't used to the onslaught of having a different person's thoughts push against his senses. Everything his clones got to experience – every sight, every smell, every sound, every feeling in that very moment – clouded anything Naruto was doing at that moment. The medic figured that when using his clones so religiously as he'd done the last few months that he would finally be used to the odd feeling.

He was not.

It still took his breath away when random images started flashing in and out of sight, rivaling anything going on in his life at this very moment. From the clone's very beginning to its suffocating end, Naruto got to experience it all in first person, as if he was physically there to do what his clone had done.

Sasuke noticed the blond stopping, turning to look at the medic with a worried gaze, "You okay?"

Naruto didn't answer, eyes flittering around, blocking out anything that was happening  _right now_. He went back –  _how long ago did this happen?_  – to the clone's beginning to when they were summoned for the second time in their existence. Three members of their group, all injured in some shape or form with no medical ninjutsu to fix them all up. "Oh Kami…" The words were choked.

"What happened?" Sasuke was at the medic's side within an instant, steadying the blond-haired gennin with a pale arm, "What's going on?"

He couldn't answer, tongue twisted with words caught in his throat. Kakashi was broken and in need of medical attention, something more than a mere clone could give. Sakura's wrist was still broken and that wound on her calf needed to be treated immediately as it might have closed up with bacteria still inside of it which could cause an infection. The cuts on Tazuna's arm were worrying and needed to be healed or at the very least stitched up.

There was so much that needed to be done.

" _S-Sakura!" His clone came bustling down the stairs sounding distressed._

_The pink-haired kunoichi looked startled before the worry creased her eyebrows together, "What's going on? Is it Kakashi?"_

" _No, but I've got a few minutes before I disappear. I have to get things out before I go." They took deep breaths, "Um… for starters, I need to know where I'm going if I'm – the original me – is going to get to the Land of the Waves. My medical supplies are going to disappear with me so you two need to take another pill now before I go. I u-um… ah, I need someone to check on Kakashi-sensei every thirty minutes; check his pulse, change bandages, make sure he's breathing, that kind of stuff."_

_Tsunami – Tazuna's daughter, apparently – nodded to herself, "Since those two are hurt, I'll… I'll deal with Kakashi if that's alright?"_

" _Thank you, sweetheart." Her father looked pleased but extremely exhausted, "I'll help you with directions."_

" _Please hurry, I'll be gone any minute now." The clone sounded panicky, desperately trying to hold their chakra together._

" _Alright, calm down. Listen, just follow that path we were originally taking down to a city. At the end of the path, there is a small – kind of poor – shipyard. Ask for a boat and sail northeast for about an hour or so. You'll get to an island where a bridge is under construction."_

_They nodded, "Alright, and I'll know how to get to this house afterward. I… I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you two, it's just that…"_

" _Kakashi-sensei was worse off," Sakura mumbled, still looking a little pale; the pain from her wrist must be getting to her._

" _I'll be here soon, I promise, I've just-"_

The memories ended there, gone with a poof of smoke. Naruto took a deep, albeit shaky breath as it finally subsided. The world around him started to come back into focus, Sasuke's worried face in full view. He bit his lip, "Something bad just happened, right?"

He nodded, still breathing a little heavy, "I left a clone with the team just in case they were attacked."

"Are they okay?" The Uchiha whispered out harshly, gritting his teeth.

"Kakashi-sensei is in bad shape; Sakura's wrist looks to be shattered while Tazuna has some pretty deep cut wounds. I'm almost positive that all three of them have some form of a concussion." Naruto ticked off what he saw in his clone's memories, "I know how to get to the Land of Waves but it's going to take a while."

Sasuke nodded his head before pulling Naruto into a stiff hug, "Try not to overdo yourself, okay?"

"I'll do my best but I can't promise anything." The medic sighed out before breaking the hug, "I have to do everything in my power to make sure that everyone on the team is okay and… and I've failed them."

The raven-haired gennin didn't know what to say, watching Naruto start to run ahead. The weight of the world must be on his shoulders, Sasuke mused. The lives of everyone on this mission solely relies on their medic, a scary and astonishing thought. He watched the blond run ahead for only a moment before picking up the pace.

After all, they had someplace where they were needed.

* * *

"I've made lunch for us if you'd like some." Tsunami smiled warmly, nodding her head over to the counter where some beans and rice were, "I've got to head upstairs and get Inari."

Sakura nodded dumbly, watching the single mother for a moment before turning to their client, "Inari?"

Tazuna waved off the comment, "That's my grandson."

"Why haven't I seen him before? Surely he has been in his room the entire time." The kunoichi stated exasperatedly, still clutching her broken wrist to her chest.

The older man shrugged, swirling a cheap bottle of alcohol before downing some as if it were water, "We don't have guests very often and, granted, I also came home covered in blood. Probably wasn't a pretty sight."

She looked down, ashamed almost, "I apologize for not protecting you better out there… it was just… um…"

"It's alright, kid." Tazuna sighed heavily, dropping a hand on the gennin's head and ruffling it, "You did the best that you could. All that matters is that you managed to keep me alive which is a good thing."

Sakura smiled lightly, blushing in appreciation, "How is your arm?"

"Stings like a bitch." He chuckled, downing some more rum, "Hoping for some magical healing from your buddy."

She nodded in understanding, "You think they're doing okay?"

"You tell me." Tazuna shrugged.

"Huh?"

Her client gave her a pointed look, raising an eyebrow, "I don't know those boys personally; I don't know how they run but you, you've been teammates for… how long now?"

"For a while," Sakura responded rather shyly.

"Not what I was asking for but, yeah, that a while worth of um… team bonding – is that a thing – and just like, being around each other." Tazuna shrugged once more, finishing off the bottle of rum, "I got to spent like, what, three hours with them before they had to run off. So, you tell me, how do  _you_ think they're doing?"

Sakura was silent for a few seconds, really thinking about it. When she had resummoned Naruto's clone to help the three of them in their time of need, the clone was covered in a little of dried blood – whose blood it was, she'd rather not find out but definitely hoped it wasn't his own. If summoning a clone for a second time still followed the same rules as before – being an exact copy of the summoner during that exact moment of its new existence – then the clone should have looked like Naruto at that moment.

That meant that something must have happened between the time Naruto and Sasuke left the group and her summoning the clone from Kakashi's scroll.

"So?" Tazuna questioned once more.

"I think that they're doing fine  _now_ but there could be a chance that they might have run into some trouble," Sakura stated, running her fingers over bruised knuckles; her parents were going to kill her for getting injured on her first C-ranked mission.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "What kind of trouble?"

The pink-haired gennin simply shrugged, "Don't know."

The stairs creaked, drawing their attention back to Tsunami. There was a sad, somber look on the woman's face as she prepared a plate. "Inari's not coming down for lunch…" Her voice is quiet, eyes downcast, "I tried to get him to at least get a plate for himself but he said he wasn't hungry."

Tazuna nodded, sharing a look with his daughter, "I'm sure he'll come around soon."

"Is it because my sensei and I are here?" Sakura asked feeling rather bad now.

Tsunami gave a tight smile, shaking her head, "Of course not, sweetie. He's just… difficult at times and this year hasn't been all that great for him. I promise you that you're fine."

"Alright, and um… if there is anything I can do like a-around the house, just let me know. I'd be um… I'd be happy to help." The kunoichi gave the young woman a smile of her own, rather shy but warm with youth.

She nodded, handing her father the plate, "That's quite alright. There's not much to do that hasn't already been done."

"Still-" Sakura started but the dark-haired woman in front of her just raised a hand, obviously not done."

"You and my father are injured. This is the least I could do for the both of you; just sit back and heal, it's okay." Tsunami smiled, the feature a little truer on her face, "Plus, from what I gathered, there is a medic on the way who'll have more supplies with him."

She nodded as the woman handed her a plate of food as well, "Yeah, Naruto is the best medic in our ranks."

"I'm pretty sure he's the  _only_ medic in your ranks." Tazuna chuckled, mouth full of food.

Sakura shook her head, taking a bite of her own, "I doubt it; he can't possibly be the only gennin who's a medic."

Tsunami tapped her chin, pulling up a chair in order to converse with the two who still lounged on the cheap couch, "May I ask a rather… dumb question?"

"Dumb?" Tazuna raised an eyebrow.

"Well, in the eyes of a ninja, it would be considered so." She stated, looking at Sakura.

The kunoichi sat up a little straighter despite her aching back telling her to quit it, "What's the question?"

"That blond boy who came in a while ago with you two… that's your medic right?" The single mother questioned, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees.

"Yeah, that was just a shadow clone of my teammate though." Sakura explained slightly, "Those clones don't have a lot of chakra and have a time limit."

She nodded in understanding, "And it doesn't need controlling?"

The pink-haired teenager shook her head, eating some more, "No, once they're summoned, they just walk, talk, and act like Naruto."

"Is that your teammate's name?" Tsunami asked quietly.

"Yeah, there's Naruto – the blond one you met – and then I have another teammate, Sasuke who is with Naruto right now," Sakura explained waving her good hand.

She nodded, thinking for a moment, "Why is Sasuke with Naruto instead of with your team? Why were you even split up in the first place?"

The teenager stopped for a moment, looking downcast. Tazuna, taking pity on her, sat up a little straighter. The two shared a look and, before Sakura knew it, she had a hand ruffling her hair once again. Her client rolled his eyes before directing his attention to his daughter, "The boy was poisoned – Sasuke, I mean. We were attacked by these brothers and one of them nicked his arm. Naruto tried his best to slow it down so that he could get it out of that boy's system once they got here but we were running out of time."

"Naruto said for us to go on without him since Sasuke probably would have… he might have died if we had continued to push his body past his limits." Sakura finished, wrist aching rather painfully now.

"I… I'm so sorry to hear that." Tsunami looked distraught, absolutely mortified by the idea of a mere  _child_ being poisoned, "I hope that he is doing alright now."

"Me too." She mumbled, more to herself than her client and his daughter, "Thank you for the food."

The dark-haired woman smiled, glad for the change in subject, "You're welcome. I'm sorry that we do not have much in the house for a full course meal."

Sakura shook her head, "It's no worries at all, I actually have had beans and rice in forever. It's a nice change from all of the vegetable dinners Mom makes."

"Are your parents' vegan or something?" Tazuna looked baffled.

She shrugged, chuckling slightly, "Probably, it's like all we eat now."

"No wonder you're so tiny." He plopped a hand on her shoulder, amusement in his eyes.

Sakura rolled her eyes, scoffing, "Shut up."

Tsunami laughed at that too, "Don't listen to him, sweetie, he used to do that to me when I went on a diet after I had Inari."

"You needed  _meat_ , not those supplementary victims or whatever they were called!" The older man looked exasperated.

The pink-haired girl snorted, "Well, to be honest, Tsunami-san, you don't look a day over twenty. That diet really did something."

She blushed, "Ah, sweetheart, you are too kind."

"I still think you both need some more meat on your bones." Tazuna rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I've got more than meat on my bones, I've got muscles." Sakura pointed out, getting a mocked motion from the older man.

A sudden knock pierced through the creaky home.

Three pairs of eyes shifted to the front door, no one saying anything. Sakura stood up immediately, her good hand pulling out a kunai while her broken one stayed close to her chest. The pink-haired kunoichi motioned for the other two to stay quiet as she walked stealthily towards the front door. She took a deep breath in, opening it on the exhale…

She nearly lost her breath at the sight.

"Oh Kami!" Tears pooled in her eyes, pulling her two teammates into a hug, minding her broken hand, of course, "Thank Kami you're both alright."

Naruto smiled warmly, tugging her closer, "I'm more worried about you."

Sakura pulled away, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks, "I was so worried. And Sasuke…" She turned to him, seeing him with color back in his face and confidence in his eyes. There had been a glaze there before and red in his cheeks from a fever but, he looked fine now. "It's good to see you back on your feet." She whispered, still not believing that her teammates were back in her sights.

"Good to be back." He smiled, the sight sending her heart fluttering.

"Come in, please." Sakura stepped to the side, allowing her friends entrance into the house.

The medic walked in first, heading for their client almost immediately, "Hey there."

"Hey, yourself." Tazuna grumbled out, looking the teenager up and down, "You should go change, you're covered in blood."

At the comment, Sakura's head spun around, giving the blond-haired gennin a thorough look. "Oh Kami, w-what happened?!" She looked startled, worried hands already reaching for him.

"Calm down, it's nothing I couldn't handle. It's fine now, I promise." Naruto gave those in the room a reassuring smile, squatting down in front of the older man who continued to lounge lazily on the couch.

Tsunami stood up, looking a little anxious, "Um… if you two are hungry, I've still got some beans and rice over here if you'd like some."

"Oh, thank you, that would be amazing." Sasuke stated, looking over to the medic, "What about you, Naruto?"

"I'm not hungry right now and, plus, I've got some business to take care of." The monotone voice was startling to his teammates, seriousness covering the gennin's face.

The Uchiha sat at the rickety table before crossing his arms, "Naruto, you haven't eaten since last night. Just take a break-"

"While I appreciate the concern, I took one of my soldier pills this morning." The medic stated, turning over one of Tazuna's ankles, "Definitely severely sprained."

"I could have told you that." The older man grumbled out, not looking too pleased with having a teenager taking care of him.

Naruto sighed, hands glowing green above it. Everyone watched in awe as the inflammation and purple bruising started to slowly fade away. "Be careful when walking on this for at least another day or two, nothing too strenuous, okay?" He raised an eyebrow, getting a nod from his client, "I've healed most of the bone strain and increased the cells surrounding the bruised areas as to speed up the healing process of those."

"I don't really understand what that all means but thanks?" Tazuna gave the gennin a half-smile.

"Mind if I see your arm?" Naruto asked politely.

He nodded, "Sure."

The medic slowly unwrapped the bandages, revealing blood-soaked cotton. He stared for a moment, "Did you two forget to change the bandages?"

Sakura – who had just taken a seat beside her teammate – looked up, "I… I'm sorry. We both took a nap because of the pain and um…"

"No, it's alright, really. I'm just worried that Tazuna-san might have gotten an infection." Naruto pulled out several pieces of cotton, setting them on top of the bandages in order to keep from contaminating other surfaces, "It looks a little better than it did earlier."

No one needed to ask how he could have known about  _earlier_.

"Sasuke, mind throwing me that blue bag in the front pocket?" The blond-haired medic called out.

"Sure." The Uchiha reached out for the travel bag, retrieving the desired item before chucking it across the room. He watched as Naruto caught it effortlessly as he went back to eating his lunch while conversing with Sakura and Tsunami.

"Since there are multiple open wounds, I'm not even going to attempt to stitch all of them. Healing them with medical ninjutsu is far quicker than using needle and thread." Naruto explained, digging through the bag for an antiseptic wipe. After finding one, he ripped open the packaging before swabbing down the area. Tazuna's face scrunched up in discomfort but didn't say anything. "I will say that this is going to feel a little weird and it would be best if you don't watch." He gave the older man a reassuring smile before hands glowed a familiar green, hovering over the broken skin.

Naruto was right, being healed from medical ninjutsu was weird and Tazuna did not like it at all.

"Ah, um… Naruto?" Tsunami voiced out quietly.

"Yes?" The blond spoke without breaking concentration.

"You seem to be very experienced with all that… medical stuff." She waved her hand for emphasis despite the boy not being able to see her, "How long have you been doing it?"

Tazuna watched his skin be fixed back together, nearly gagging when blood started to rise to the surface as the muscle was disturbed. He definitely shouldn't have looked.

"I've been doing this since I was eight… well, technically ten. I didn't start using medical ninjutsu until I was ten." Naruto explained, pulling a hand away to summon a clone. The sudden puff of smoke startled the bunch but they continued to watch the medic work. Without a word, the clone reached into the blue bag for a gauze pad, using it to wipe away the blood so that their summoner could continue to work without anything in his way.

"That's very impressive." Tsunami finally breathed out before turning towards the other two gennin, "I'm assuming that you are Sasuke."

The Uchiha nodded, "Correct."

"I'm glad you're doing alright after your poisoning." She smiled warmly.

"Well, I had a good medic to help me out." Sasuke grinned pointedly, just barely seeing Naruto glance over his shoulder at the comment.

"But you're doing better?" Sakura's soft voice disrupted his thoughts, "You're not sick anymore?"

He shook his head, "No, definitely tired but I'm good now."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Neither Sasuke nor Sakura noticed the medic's shoulders tense up at that word.

After all, he'd never been able to promise anything in his line of work.

The glow of green stopped, Tazuna's wounds finally having been closed. There was still some yellow bruising left from the abuse the arm sustained during the battle. Naruto stood up, dispelling the clone with barely a hand motion as he headed for the table. The medic pulled up a chair as to sit in front of Sakura, "Put your left leg on my lap. I've got to make sure it's healing properly and then I'll deal with your wrist."

She nodded, lifting her injured leg and laying it diagonally against her teammate's lap, "The bleeding stopped a while ago but it still hurts."

The blond-haired gennin gave her a strange look and waved a hand over it, kneading the flesh here or there. The room was quiet in his observation. "No, you're fine; it's healing just fine." He stated.

"Then why does it still hurt?" Sakura inquired.

Naruto poked her knee, trying to get her to move her leg from his lap, "You've probably just stressed it out so it's going to ache for a little while longer; try not to move around too much."

"You can stress a cut?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, not believing what he's hearing.

"Of course." He rolled his eyes, politely holding his hand out for his teammate, "Can I see your wrist? I apologize for neglecting this for so long."

Sakura pulled the shaky appendage away from her chest, laying just her fingertips in the palm of her friend's hand, "It's okay… it just hurts a lot."

"I'm going to say this now; the process of healing a broken wrist is going to be very painful even though I'll be using medical ninjutsu." At Naruto's words, she tensed, "At the moment, I don't have any fast-acting pain medication for you to take while I do this, however, I do have a second option."

"Yeah?"

"I've got a bottle of whisky on me right now. You can take a shot or two just to relax your body, cool your mind down just long enough for me to do this." He explained.

Both of his teammates looked startled, Sakura more so than Sasuke. She blinked at him, nearly jerking her hand away, "Are… Are you serious right now?!"

"Is that why you knew how bad alcohol tasted?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, "Is it because you've drunk alcohol before?"

Naruto waved a hand, nearly rolling his eyes, "Please, this isn't my first rodeo with alcohol. I've had to use all the time in the medical field."

"Glad to know alcoholism is good for something." Tazuna chuckled, "Sakura if you're going to do this, I have some shot glasses around here."

"I…" She was tongue-tied, "Naruto, this is… this is  _illegal_ , I can't just… you know,  _drink_!"

"You do know that, after becoming a gennin, anything that an adult is allowed, a ninja is allowed the same things which include drinking… moderately." He explained, "The only way it would be illegal would be if I was forcing you to drink while unconscious or incapable of telling me no."

Their client was already heading for the kitchen cabinet when Sakura finally agreed to a single shot –  _"Anymore after that and my mom might kill me!"_ – while Naruto started to pull out the whisky and a rag. Sasuke furrowed his brows at the sight of the red rag, almost voicing his curiosity but chose not to mention it… yet. Tazuna placed the shot glass down, the group watching as the medic poured some alcohol in it before handing it off to the only female on their team.

She stared at it with nervous eyes, "So, do I like… sip it?"

Tazuna barked out a laugh. "No, no,  _no_. You take it and-" He made a jerking hand motion, a fake shot glass tipping against his lips, "-and do that until it's all in your mouth then just swallow quickly."

"Um… okay?" Sakura murmured out, copying the older man's movements. Upon contact with her tongue, the kunoichi gagged but swallowed it. They watched her cough a little bit, eyes springing up with tears, "That was – ack! – that was  _horrible_! How does anyone ever become an alcoholic?"

Their client rolled his eyes, "You get used to it, kid."

Naruto nodded to that, "Now, I'll say this once. If at any time the pain becomes too much, just take a swing from that bottle because I can't stop midway. Don't ask for permission, just go for it."

"A-Alright." She looked nervous, eyes flittering between the medic and the bottle of Japanese whisky.

"And one more thing." He handed the red rag over to her, "If you need to scream, put that in your mouth. If there is an enemy outside, we don't need them to know we're vulnerable and… screams do tend to break my concentration."

Sasuke now knew what the rag was for and he couldn't tell whether he liked knowing or not.

Sakura reached out for it, clutching it in a fist, "Okay… but um… how bad is this going to hurt?"

"I don't know but it's going to be correcting everything that's broken in your wrist so…" Naruto didn't know what else to say, "Are you ready?"

"I guess so…" She whispered out, looking a little pale in the face.

"Don't look, just close your eyes or talk to one of them. Don't look at me or your wrist, it'll just make it worse." His voice is soft, a reminder that he isn't just a medic but is also her friend and this probably hurts him as well.

Sakura bobbed her head, turning her body to stare at her other teammate who was just giving her a sympathetic look. Just as the blond had instructed, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

The medical ninjutsu filtered through the air once more, whipping around the broken wrist in some sort of dance. The kunoichi stiffened, eyes clenching in pain as her heart hammered in her chest. A sickening pop sounded off in the room, another one following shortly. The combination of the horrifying noise and the distinct burn of pain in her wrist nearly made Sakura sick to her stomach.

"Fuck!" She hissed out, trying to keep quiet. After a moment, the pink-haired gennin was slamming a fist against the old table. The pain was becoming too much, the cracks and fractures in her bones being healed at a slow rate. It was almost too much.

"Sakura, hey, give me your hand." Sasuke's cool voice sounded off. She took a deep breath, hovering a shaky hand out for him to take. A warm, calloused hand surrounded hers, stilling its quivering for a moment.

"Father, c'mon…" Tsunami whispered, pulling Tazuna towards the stairs; this was a team moment, better to leave them to their devices this way.

"Sakura, you might want to put the rag in your mouth. I've got to handle the actual break in your wrist." Naruto informed, fingers just barely touching her skin.

Sakura tore her hand away from the Uchiha just long enough to stuff the red rag in her mouth before searching Sasuke out again. He was still there, rubbing her rubbing reassuringly. The kunoichi took rugged breaths through her nose, homing in on the sound of it instead of the sickening pops coming from her injured hand.

Sakura wasn't sure what she expected when hearing that the medic beside her was going to 'handle the actual break' in her wrist but it definitely wasn't having Naruto grab her actual wrist and press against it as his healing chakra burned through her bones.

Tears trailed down her face in quick succession, a scream caught in her throat. It hurt so  _fucking_ bad, burned in a way nothing has ever burned before. This was number one on the top ten things that have hurt her. Sakura could feel her teammate's thumb rubbing soothing circles against her knuckles, reassuring her with words that she never knew Sasuke could say.

When the pain subsided – meaning that Naruto moved his hand as to have it hover over her wrist once more – the kunoichi broke contact with the Uchiha to reach over to the whisky. Sasuke watched in awe as the pink-haired gennin downed a few heavy gulps within a second or two. Sakura took deep breaths, setting the bottle down and reaching out for Sasuke once more.

"I'm almost done, okay?" Naruto's soothing voice was nice to hear over the sounds of her heavy breathing and sobbing. It was nearing the five-minute mark when their medic finally pulled away, the warmth from his medical ninjutsu leaving the area around her wrist cold and vulnerable.

Sakura sighed in relief, stretching her fingers to see how they worked now; a little stiff but mostly alright. Green eyes opened back up to the world, hands coming up to wipe away the tears. "I… I'm sorry about the freakout, you know?" She whispered out.

Sasuke sent her a small smile, "Don't be, it's completely normal."

"Plus, you had us. If you were to have a freak out around anyone, we'd be the best people." Naruto explained, standing up from the table.

Sakura nodded shakily as the medic handed her a bottle of pain meds, "Where are you going?"

"Final job of the day." He stated, packing up his bag, "Check on Kakashi-sensei and then a nap."

"I would hope you'd eat something before a nap," Sasuke stated, crossing his arms again.

"Nope, nap first. I haven't slept in almost three days." Naruto accidentally lets slip, already half-way up the stairs.

Sakura and Sasuke watched him go, both baffled and shocked by the revelation. They shared a look; Naruto was going to crash soon – whether it be from sleep-deprivation, starvation, or just exhausting his ninjutsu – and it wasn't going to be good when it happened. In that very look, the two knew that whatever bad was to come for their medic, Sasuke and Sakura would do nothing but help out their best friend.

After all, Naruto deserved anything in the world for everything he's done for this team. Not just for taking care of them in their time of need but for finally bringing them together into something closer to family than just a team.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – Yay! An extremely long chapter with lots of dialogue and hurt with comfort! Those four things are some of my favorite things when writing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. You all have been so supported by these recent chapters and I just can't get enough of it. Thank you all for waiting for me to get off my lazy ass and start to get more of these chapters out religiously. I appreciate it so much!
> 
> One more thing, I have a discord server (a free desktop/phone app that you can download) now for you all to join me and just chat, ask my question, get updates from me, and get some exclusive content – as in like previews of things – I'm working on. I talked pretty extensively with a few of you through private messages about this and I hope you all will come to drop in and say hello!
> 
> Link to the discord server (will also be on my profile for you all): https://discord.gg/ezWcARV


	28. It's Too Late to Speak

"I know I said I'd help you with Minato's kid but  _this,"_ The white-haired man waved a hand in the air for emphasis, "is not what I thought you meant."

Hiruzen stared down his former student, the man not bothered by it at all, "Jiraiya, can you please be serious for a minute of your life. This is your godson."

The Sannin sighed heavily, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest, "Yeah, sure. I'll try my best. Mind explaining it once more."

" _You're hopeless."_ The Third Hokage found himself thinking irritably, "I need you to help me locate Tsunade so that she can take Naruto's place."

"Naruto's place in  _what_  exactly?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"The  _war_ , Jiraiya, the thing I've been talking about for the last hour!" His patience was growing thin.

At least the man before him had the decency to look sheepish, "I may have zoned out when you mentioned Tsunade. Plus, why would a kid be taking place in a  _war_?"

Hiruzen sighed but a sudden thought crossed his mind, "When was the last time you saw Naruto or – at the very least – checked up on him?"

"When he was like seven, I think. Kid was pretty good with pranks." Jiraiya shrugged, staring into the old Sarutobi man's eyes, "Why?

"Naruto picked up medical ninjutsu and is more advanced with it than when Tsunade was his age." He stated, watching his former student's facial features morph. There was awe at first before pride and then confusion. It ended with pure understanding.

"There's supposed to be a widespread attack throughout the village and, if I'm picking up on this right, Naruto can heal multiple people at one time just like Tsunade can with her slugs." He pointed out, getting a nod from the older man before him, "And you need my spy network to locate her before the Chunnin exams come around."

Despite his words not being said in the form of a question, Hiruzen still nodded, "I don't want to force the world on a child's shoulder again; I can't do that to Naruto and Tsunade refuses to write me back."

"I doubt she's going to come back just because you tear up a little bit over a kid she's never met," Jiraiya stated somberly.

"She might if she knows that he's a medic at fourteen," Hiruzen said hopefully.

The other man had nothing to counter the Third Hokage's words, "You could always  _force_ her to come back."

"I've tried multiple times before, Jiraiya, it isn't that simple." The old Sarutobi man stated somberly, "You do have her whereabouts, right?"

"I have the general area but she's still there from what my spies say." The Toad Sannin pointed to the window as if one of them would be standing there.

"Alright." Hiruzen nodded, more to himself than the other man, "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. I'll see you at the west gates at six." Jiraiya gave the man a soft smile before leaving through the window.

* * *

 

Sasuke awoke rather slowly, noticing how everything felt muddied and bland. There was a lead taste in his mouth with an aching feeling in his chest. He sighed rather annoyedly at the reality of his situation. However, despite whatever was going on with him, Naruto reassured that it was all to be expected. While the Uchiha might have felt great health wise upon reaching Tazuna's home, he was still recovering from his poisoning and fevers.

Before the dark-haired gennin went to bed that night, the medic came downstairs to tell him to take it easy with minimal activities – i.e. nothing that could stress his body further – and to just relax for the next day or two. At this point, Sasuke didn't mind laying low for a while since he still didn't feel very good.

Don't get him wrong, the Uchiha definitely felt better than he had in the last few days – with increased energy as well as finally being able to walk and talk without fear of worsening his condition – but it was just that churning in his stomach and the mild headaches that made him want to take Naruto's advice.

Speaking of Naruto, where the hell is he? He hadn't seen the blond since the night before when he went to grab something from his bag downstairs after checking up on Kakashi. Sasuke hoped that the team's medic was resting somewhat instead of staying up like he'd done the last few nights. After all, Naruto had said that he was going to take a nap after dealing with Kakashi.

The Uchiha looked to the other side of the room, seeing Sakura lying on her back as to not upset her healing wrist; she was still sleeping soundly. While sad about the events that had transpired between her and their faceless enemy, there was nothing Sasuke could do that Naruto hadn't already done so there was no point in continuing to worry about it.

Well, that's not necessarily true; he could still worry about her since they are still teammates.

Sasuke makes sure that, while he's getting up, to be as quiet as possible – who knows how long it's been since Sakura got some good sleep without having to deal with a constant pain? The dark-haired teenager heads for the door, glancing at the wall clock just above the doorway; it was nearing one in the morning.

The Uchiha makes his way downstairs and stops upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, bare feet tipping off the bottom step. At the table is Naruto, a palm pressed tightly against his forehead, eyes covered with a shadow as the medic snoozed stiffly – or maybe he was just zoning out?

Sasuke couldn't tell.

He wondered how long his best friend had been sitting there at the creaky table and in such an uncomfortable seat. The dark-haired gennin hoped that it hadn't been long since Naruto was always going on about stiff backs and how bad they're for ninjas especially. The Uchiha made his way over to the snoozing medic, shaking him slightly, "Yo, Naruto, get up."

He had expected him to awaken with a start – since he hadn't been so kind upon shaking the other gennin – but Naruto simply exhaled deeply. It was like he was somewhere else and needed time to readjust to reality. It took a moment for his eyes to fully open but the blue depths blinked up at him before turning slowly towards the wall clock. A warm smile spread against his stiff features as Naruto's eyes honed on him once more, "Well, good morning, sleeping beauty. You've slept for twelve hours."

"W-What?" That certainly was an unexpected sentence.

"After we got here and you were fed, you just went upstairs and crashed." He hummed, sitting up fully. Naruto took the time to stretch effortlessly, a satisfying pop coming from his back.

Sasuke looked sheepish for a moment, "I guess I was just really tired."

The medic chuckled lowly, "I would assume that you would have had enough sleep these last few days but, hey, everyone heals differently. Speaking on that, checkup."

"Really?" He groaned out.

Naruto was having none of it but there was a playful glint in his eyes, "Any pain?"

"No, just a little sore some places." The other responded, knowing that he would never get out of this.

"Nausea?"

"No."

"Headaches?"

"Yeah."

"Scale of one to ten on how bad your headaches are?" Naruto asked, a quizzical look in his eyes.

Sasuke thought for a moment, "Probably a three, mild."

He clapped his hands as if satisfied with the answers, "Well, that's good. I'm going to give you some vitamins as well as some ibuprofen to help with the headaches when breakfast time rolls around."

"Since when do you carry vitamins?" The Uchiha wondered, scoffing at his own question.

"I happen to take vitamins myself, Sasuke." The blond-haired teenager rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. It groaned in discontent from the odd position but did not break.

Sasuke looked up at his teammate, really taking in his features. There was a mild sunken look of his cheeks with dark bags underneath his bottom eyelid. Naruto's usual tan skin had paled – not by much, though. The vibrant life of the ocean in his eyes had dulled significantly; he must be so exhausted. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"Why don't you go sleep for a few hours? I can stay up and keep watch over the house." Assuming that Naruto was doing that and not just being a stubborn medic.

The blond thought for a moment before shaking his head, looking ten years older, "No can do."

Okay, maybe he was being a stubborn medic.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean by that?"

"I've taken two booster pellets within the last few days, even if I were to attempt to sleep, the adrenaline running at all times would keep me awake." He looked undisturbed by the thought of running on no sleep, "I tried to take a nap earlier but my mind wouldn't slow down enough. Don't' worry about it too much, I'll sleep eventually."

Yeah, like that was an option, the Uchiha mused to himself rather bitterly. Ever since the boy in front of him saved his life, Sasuke couldn't stop worrying about their medic. "Well, then what exactly were you doing just now?" He questioned, waving to the chair, "You definitely  _looked_  like you were sleeping."

"Nope, I was meditating." Naruto stated before standing up to his full height, hovering over the table for a moment, "Would you like some coffee? I feel like we're going to be up for a while."

"I… do you know if there is any hot tea?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

The medic thought for a moment before nodding, "I hope you Jasmine tea, that's all Tsunami-san has."

Dark eyes followed Naruto, watching him as he headed for the stove. Sasuke thought about the medic's words from before, looking startled, "Wait!"

"Hm?" The blond turned to look at him, eyes blinking slowly with a pot in his hands.

"Isn't there like a position you're supposed to be in for meditating?" The remaining member of the Uchiha clan asked, glancing at the chair his teammate was in moments before.

He shook his head, placing the old pot underneath the sink and allowing the water to rise about halfway. The blond-haired teenager watched as it boiled the faucet water; their client's family was too poor to buy an actual coffee machine that could boil their water for them. "The position you're probably thinking of – with your legs crossed and your hands on your knees – is just for beginners, to help you really understand meditating." Naruto waved a hand for emphasis, the water thoroughly boiled, "I've been doing it for so long now that I could just sit anywhere in any position and meditate."

The Uchiha nodded in slight understanding, watching the medic pull out two chipped mugs, "How long have you been sitting there?"

Naruto thought for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in thought. He wasn't exactly sure and took his time trying to figure it out. The blond ripped open a Jasmine tea packet, plopping the bag into Sasuke's mug as well as pouring some instant black coffee grains in his own. "Well, everyone was in bed by… eight and so I've probably been meditating for about… six or seven hours?" He shrugged.

"A… Are you serious?" Sasuke sat there bewildered as the medic poured the boiled water into the mugs, returning back to the table with them, "Naruto, that's not healthy!"

"Keep your voice down, there are people sleeping." He shook his head humorously before pointing to the cups in front of them, "It's hot so I'd wait to drink something."

"I…" He wasn't sure what to say, could feel the worried fury bubbling up inside of him. Sasuke felt as if his teammate was being a hypocrite, always fighting those the medic cared about when they were doing something dangerous for their health. And now, Naruto was totally ditching his words in favor of just sitting there like he hasn't slept in days with minimal food intake.

Naruto didn't seem to notice the flash of emotions prowling across his face and instead taking a spoon and stirring his black coffee, "You know, meditating is great for your mental health."

_Mental health._

Those two words shut down the argument burning in his throat, waiting to just spill out his mouth. Whatever Sasuke was going to say to the medic was gone within seconds, guilt starting to fester up instead. How could he forget that Naruto was probably suffering from…  _whatever_ had happened to him every time the Uchiha was unconscious? Not to mention having to play medic almost the entirety of this mission without a break.

He took a deep breath, taking a sip of his hot tea. The Uchiha wrinkled up his nose in realization; Tazuna's family didn't have enough money to afford sugar to put in this rather bitter tea. Dark eyes stared into the depths of orange in his mug, thumbing the side, "So… what happened while I was out?"

"Well, we certainly didn't have a party, that's for sure." Naruto chuckled at his own joke; Sasuke didn't find it all that funny, mind still plagued with guilt and worry, "I had to stay upstairs for several hours since Kakashi-sensei still had some things that needed to be healed – an extended checkup if you will – before heading downstairs for a while. I got to talk to Sakura a bit before she went to head to bed, not feeling good after drinking."

"I'd almost forgotten that she did that." Sasuke admitted, taking a small sip of his hot tea, "Think she's going to be alright?"

"Physically, yes. Mentally… well, I think we're all going to need some help when we get to the village." The medic stated quietly, guzzling some of his coffee before giving a half-hearted chuckle, "Man, my report is going to be  _so_ long."

"Doesn't Kakashi-sensei usually handle the reports?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

Naruto nodded, "However since I'm a medic, I have to write a separate report from the medic's point-of-view as well as all the medical procedures I performed throughout the mission. I could lose my license if I forgot to do so."

Sasuke hissed in understanding, "You're going to have wrist cramps for days."

They laughed together, nearly forgetting that they were supposed to be quiet. Naruto rolled his eyes before a somber expression touched his features, "I think this C-ranked mission just got bumped up to A-ranked."

"What?"

"I was talking with Sakura about what transpired before she summoned my clone since that is the only piece of information that I don't have." He explained quietly, soothing circles into his cup, "Apparently, there was this man – something like Zabuza – who attacked them, nearly took off their heads with a very large sword."

"Really?"

The medic nodded, "This Zabuza guy is a missing-nin, a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

"Are you serious?" Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction, "He's here in the Land of Waves?"

"Yeah and he nearly killed all three of them. However, Sakura says that there was this other person – a hunter-nin from Kiri – who attacked Zabuza and killed him." Naruto shook his head, eyes dark in memory, "I'm not too convinced, though, because my clone got summoned  _immediately_  after Zabuza was down and I know what I saw – or rather, what my  _clone_ saw."

The Uchiha was still processing the information, "What'd they see?"

"It was almost as if the man was in stasis. He'd most likely be pronounced clinically dead but… he's  _not_." A tanned hair ran down his face tiredly, "It's rather confusing, all of this, but Zabuza was not dead."

"There's no proof of that, though." Sasuke explained, "You said your clone only saw it, that doesn't mean that Zabuza is still alive."

Naruto thought for a moment before shaking his head, "No, Zabuza definitely has to be alive."

"There's no way." He rebutted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sasuke, do you know  _anything_ about Kiri's hunter-nins?" The medic questioned, a superior look in his eyes.

The Uchiha deflated after seeing the stare, knowing almost in an instant that he was wrong, "No."

Naruto leaned back in his chair once more, a groan coming from the old wood, "Hunter-nin dispose of the body immediately on the scene after killing their target. Either that ninja was just a bounty hunter looking for some money or Zabuza isn't working alone."

Sasuke huffed, looking disturbed by this information, "That just means that we're all fucked."

The medic sputtered, holding back a laugh, "I think the odds might be against those two, though. Sakura and Kakashi-sensei are healing just fine and you're back on your feet. Plus, if anything happens to any of you while I'm still here, I'll just patch you back up."

"Yeah, but that hunter-nin might just fight with Zabuza the next time we encounter them." He sighed, finishing off his tea with a single swing, "We don't even know this ninja's abilities. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura can give us a rundown on what Zabuza can do but this hunter-nin could be as powerful as the Hokage."

Naruto nodded in understanding, staring at the dark depths of his coffee, "True but they looked young, maybe a few years older than us."

"Are you suggesting we  _talk_ to them?" A groggy voice came from behind the two. The boys' heads swivel quickly to stare at their other teammate, Sakura looking a little more than rough around the edges. She traveled the small distance from the stairs to the table.

"I apologize if we woke you." The medic looked on shyly.

The pink-haired kunoichi waved a hand and shook her head slowly, "No, I smelled coffee."

Her teammates chuckled at her words, Naruto sliding her his own cup of coffee, "I don't want anymore; I've probably had too  _much_ coffee."

"Thanks." She easily downed most of the cup, setting it back down on the table, "So, talking with the enemy."

"That's… I'm not suggesting  _that_ , it's just…" Naruto thought for a moment. Okay, he was totally suggesting that they could talk to them – well, not  _them_  as in both Zabuza and the hunter-nin but definitely the latter. Kakashi was in no position to hold another all-out battle and they still had to make sure that their client was safe from harm. If they were to make peace with those two, it'd make their jobs much easier.

"He's definitely suggesting we make friends with them," Sasuke stated, looking bored.

"I am  _not_." The teenager hissed back,  _"I couldn't bring myself to 'make friends' with the same person who nearly killed my sensei and friend."_  The words were never spoken, but his teammates could tell that there was something on his mind. However, neither spoke about it.

"Well, what are you suggesting we do?" Sakura asked, finishing the coffee much faster than the medic might have. She got up to make another glass, her wrist feeling much better than it had beforehand.

Naruto shrugged, "I have no idea. I'm really at a loss for words."

"But definitely not suggesting we befriend the enemy." Sasuke rolled his eyes, standing up to steal some more hot water for another glass of Jasmine tea.

The blond-haired medic groaned defeatedly, dragging a hand down his face, "I just said that we should talk to them."

"Correction,  _befriend_." The only kunoichi in the room waved a hand.

"Sure, whatever you want to call it." Naruto grumbled, looking just as tired as he was feeling, "All I'm saying is that having those two always out for blood with making our jobs harder. Kakashi-sensei can't fight and we've got to make sure that Tazuna-san is out of harms' way."

"They'll just kill us for just speaking to them." Sakura huffed out, a dark look spreading across her features, "The things that man could do scared me. He nearly took out Kakashi-sensei within the first ten minutes."

Sasuke gave her a worried look, eyes wide with disbelief. The medic nodded, looking down at his hands, "You're talking about the drowning."

She gave him a curious look, "How'd you know?"

"Water in the lungs." Naruto pointed to his chest for emphasis.

Green eyes slid shut at the memory, opening to show a swirl of emotions, "I had to do my best to stop him… that's when he broke my wrist."

" _More like shattered."_ He thought to himself, watching as Sakura and Sasuke came back with their second glass of coffee and hot tea respectfully before directing his attention to the former, "I'm actually really surprised that neither you nor Tazuna-san had more serious injuries on you."

"Hm?"

Sasuke looked down then, "Kakashi-sensei must have done a damn good job of making sure you two didn't get hurt too badly…"

"I guess…" Sakura sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"What happened to Kakashi-sensei out there?" The Uchiha started.

She shook her head, "I really don't want to talk about it right now."

The dark-haired Uchiha nodded somberly, looking to their medic instead, "Then can you give me a guess since you…  _treated_ Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto looked to the kunoichi, furrowing his eyebrows, "You don't mind me talking about it?"

Sakura took a sip of her coffee, "No, I… I'm actually kind of curious about it as well. We don't really get to see you operate on people."

"You had to operate on Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke blinked in surprise.

Naruto nodded before taking a deep breath, "Well, Sakura confirmed that Kakashi-sensei was drowned so… that's that. Um… he had a pretty severe concussion that I'll have to assess when he wakes up."

The pink-haired teenager nodded slowly, "When do you think that'll be?"

"Hopefully, soon." He stated, not sure what type of answer to give, "There were multiple bruising throughout his entire body, some severe, others caused by mild attacks. I used some medical ninjutsu to speed up the process but Kakashi-sensei will definitely be feeling it when he wakes up."

"What else?" Sasuke mumbled out.

The medic wasn't entirely sure how much of his medical report he should be giving out but continued anyway, "A fractured kneecap, multiple broken ribs, and a deep, long slash across his chest. Not to mention all the internal bleeding… that was not fun to operate with."

"Damn…" Sakura hissed, looking up at her teammate, "How much did your clone fix before we got here?"

"Not much besides surgery to help with the internal bleeding and the stitching of the cut on his chest." Naruto stated, finishing off his coffee, "It was all they could manage before disappearing."

The Uchiha blinked slowly, "So… when we got here, you still had to fix everything else? The water in his lungs, the fractured kneecap, the bruising, the broken ribs… everything?"

"Yeah."

"How have you not passed out yet?" The only female on their team asked, bewildered by the mere thought.

Sasuke nodded in agreement, "I'm  _exhausted_  I've barely done anything throughout this entire mission."

Naruto chuckled bitterly, staring down at his hands again, "Just because I'm sitting up and talking does not mean that I'm not ready to pass out. I just can't."

"Can't or won't?" Sakura nearly scoffed at the thought.

Dull blue eyes darkened for a moment, his teammate's mouth being pressed into a firm line, "You may not have been here for the explanation, but I do recall saying that I took some booster pellets the night before. I can't get to sleep while they're still in my system."

"How long will it last?" Sasuke asked, noticing the choked up look on the kunoichi's face from the medic's words.

"I've taken two but I'm also expending a lot of energy so I give it another twenty hours before I can even consider sleeping." Naruto sighed, a hand running through his hair in exasperation.

Sakura watched for a moment, the table silent from the blond's words, "I'm sorry for how I reacted."

He shook his eyes, "No, it's fine. There's just a lot going on right now."

"No kidding." The dark-haired gennin across from him huffed, "But you will try to sleep in… twenty hours?"

Naruto smiled, "If Kakashi-sensei doesn't wake up around that time then, of course, I'll be out like a light."

"Are you two okay?" Sakura looked at his friends before her eyes honed on the medic, "You were covered in a lot of blood when you got here."

"I apologize for that, I didn't have a change for a shirt that wasn't clean." A depressed look hardened the blond's features but disappeared almost immediately when all eyes were on him, "I'll be okay."

Sasuke shook his head, "That's not very reassuring."

"Does that mean you're  _not_ okay… like right now?" Sakura mumbled out.

"I'm just tired, okay?" Naruto tried to give them a smile but it looked broken, something that should never be on his face.

The Uchiha sighed out. He knew he said he wouldn't ask about  _it_ but he just had to know now. Sasuke stared into dull blue eyes, heart clenching from the sight, "What happened to you when you disappeared?"

Sakura's head jerked to stare at the boy beside her, "You left Sasuke alone?"

Naruto shook his head, "Of course not, I had a clone with him."

"Your clone said that the other ones had been destroyed by those bandits and you left to deal with them." The pale-skinned gennin stated slowly, noticing the somber change in their conversation.

"B-Bandits? You were attacked by bandits?" Sakura asked worriedly. Even if she was nearly killed by a ninja, it had only been one. Who knows how many Naruto had to deal with?

"They were mostly civilian ones, no big deal." He stated, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

"Mostly civilian?" His teammates both mumbled out.

Naruto's jaw clenched and Sasuke  _knew_ why his clone told him not to ask. The medic in front of him was so unlike the ray of pure innocent sunshine he saw at training sessions and working his ass off at the hospital. The gennin sighed heavily, looking away from the two, "There was  _one_ ninja…"

"What'd they do?" Sakura asked, voice hushed and her eyes wide.

He took a deep breath, mouth choked up on the words. Instead, the medic reached into his pocket, pulling out a kunai. The blond-haired gennin showed it to him before demonstrating slowly what the ninja did before pocketing it. "It's fine, though. My lung might have deflated a little but it was nothing I couldn't handle. It was healed within minutes." Naruto murmured, not able to look at them, "I had to kill so many while out there."

The kunoichi looked between her teammates, not sure what to do with the blank stare of the medic and the heartbroken one from the Uchiha. "Do you..." She started slowly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." That single word was firm as Naruto stood up from the table, heading for the stairs, "I'm going to check up on Kakashi-sensei. You two should get some more rest."

And with that, he was gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all that happy with this chapter – more because of the length rather than the content – but I felt as if these two scenes were rather important, just not so important to where I could make a full-length chapter out of it. You all needed to know about what was happening with Hiruzen and Inc. as well as what he was up to right now as the Chunnin exams start to get closer to date. I also felt as if Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto needed to have a talk together… even if the conversation didn't really go as I had originally planned. They've been through so much together so it's only proper to give them some time together.
> 
> I have a Discord server if you'd like to come join, here is the link:
> 
> discord . gg / ezWcARV (remove the spaces)


	29. A Terrible Medic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Close to 5,000-word chapter with long author's note at the end. You don't have to read but I'd appreciate it. However, I'd like to thank 'aisverse' from Archive of Our Own for your kind words that inspired me to finally finish this chapter with the last bit of my energy before the school year starts tomorrow. Thank you so much.

 

Naruto didn't reappear downstairs until Tazuna nearly pried him from Kakashi's room, dragging the gennin to the breakfast table. All the way there, the older man was chastising the medic on this or that, saying that  _"A growing boy needs some meat on his bones"_  and what not. If Sakura and Tsunami chuckled at that, no one commented on it.

The blond-haired teenager nodded along but there was a glazed look over his eyes as if he were somewhere else. His teammates were staring with curious eyes, exchanging looks with each other when no one was looking. They were still worried about the team's medic who could never really catch a break.

However, neither Sakura nor Sasuke could voice their worries to the blond in fear of something similar to earlier happening once more.

Tsunami turns to the group, "Inari will be down in a bit."

Sakura brightened up at this, "Oh, so he'll finally be joining us."

"Yes." She nodded politely, turning back to the flavorless oatmeal she was making.

"Guess he finally decided not to be a hard-ass about this." Tazuna took a sip of his bitter coffee, "'bout damn time. That boy would have starved if he kept relying on the leftovers you brought him."

"Inari?" Sasuke blinked in question.

His teammate nodded, turning towards her crush, "That's Tsunami-san's son. He didn't really trust us."

"Us as in ninja." The Uchiha stated, rolling his eyes slightly.

"I promise, he's not as bad as we make him out to be." Their client explained.

The dark-haired woman over by the stove scoffed, "Speak for yourself, father."

The gennins laughed at that, drawing a smirk from Tazuna as well. He turned towards the medic, "Did you sleep alright, kid?"

"I didn't sleep at all," Naruto stated, taking a sip of water from his chipped glass.

"Oh." The tanned man blinked in surprise, glancing at the boy's teammates. Sakura shook her head, eyes practically begging him to drop the subject. "Well, alrighty then." He scratched the back of his head, "How's your teacher then? Will he wake up soon?"

The blond-haired teen thought for a moment, "He'll most likely come out of unconsciousness by the end of the night or tomorrow morning. His wounds are healing slowly so he'll most likely be feeling the pain by the time he's conscious again."

"Why's that?" Sasuke asked, slightly worried for Kakashi.

"The slower rate of healing is to be expected by how much medical ninjutsu I had to use on most of his body. It takes away the remaining stamina in his body and uses it to heal tissues on a cellular level." Naruto explained without a filter, too tired to layer one over with easy explanations, "However, that levels his body in a constant state of exhaustion until he's able to get some real nutrients and exercise in his body."

"But he's going to be okay, right?" Sakura questioned quietly.

He turned towards her and smiling a little bit, "Of course."

"Where was that confidence when you left my grandpa to die?" A squeaky voice called from the bottom of the stairs. All eyes turned towards a brown-haired boy with anger in his eyes.

Tazuna gave an apologetic look towards the medic before rounding up on his grandson, "Inari, you take that back this instant! That boy did his best and because of that, I didn't die."

The youngster hissed, pointing an accusing finger at the blond, "You said so, he  _left_  you to do something. He didn't care that your life was threatened. You could have died, and he wouldn't have  _cared_!" By this point, Inari's voice was a shrieking mess and red in the face.

"Inari!" His mother gasped out loud, turning away from the stove.

"No, it's fine, Tsunami-san." Naruto sighed out loud, standing up to his full height, "He is allowed to express his anger. It's unhealthy to keep such volatile emotions inside."

" _Mental health."_ Sasuke reminded himself.

The medic walked up to the boy, a bored expression on his face, "Hit me."

"W-What?!" Inari took a step back.

"I said  _hit me_." Naruto's eyes darkened.

The brown-haired boy stood his ground then, "You're crazy, you piece of-"

"Inari!" His grandfather shouted out this time.

"If you really are angry that I supposedly left Tazuna-san to die then what are you waiting for? Hit me." He said quietly, holding his arms out of the way, "But let me remind you, whatever you do to me will never hurt as much as the pain of letting people in need of help walk along their own path without any assistance."

"W-What… What are you going on about?" Inari whispered out, unsure of what to say, "You're just… You are crazy if you think that…"

Naruto turned away, heading for the stove, "I tried my best, Inari, I really did but I'm too exhausted to deal with you right now." He took a bowl of oatmeal that Tsunami had already placed out before heading to the stairs. "You are a brat, Inari." He stated harshly, eyes narrowing, "You will never get anywhere in life if you continue to be a brat like that, never know anything beyond that." With that, he disappeared upstairs.

"I HATE YOU!" Inari suddenly screamed out, stomping his foot on the wooden floors.

"Use that anger to be a better person!" Naruto shouted back, opening up the door to Kakashi's room.

"AGH!" The boy growled out, "I hate ninjas!"

Tsunami looked to the ground, "Inari, your accusations were incorrect. I think you should go apologize."

He huffed, crossing his arms, "Like I'd ever apologize to a guy like that." The brunette stomped towards the door, mumbling stuff underneath his breath.

"And where do you think you're going?!" Tazuna glared at his grandson.

"I'm going to a friend's house because  _apparently_ I'm not wanted in my own home," Inari growled out, opening the door and slamming it behind him as he left.

It was quiet for a moment as Tsunami handed bowls to her father as well as the young gennins at the table. "I apologize for him…" She whispered out.

"It's alright," Sakura stated, laying her hand on the older woman's.

"No," The mother shook her head in disagreement, "it's not alright. Naruto's right… my son is a brat and… I don't discipline him like I'm supposed to. After what happened to his father… I hate fussing over him, but he's just become such a spiteful boy and I'm truly sorry that he said that to your medic."

Sasuke nodded slowly, "Yeah, but Naruto's a hard head and if he really was offended that Inari said that stuff to him, you'd know. He wouldn't just sit back and take some verbal abuse from a toddler."

Tazuna chuckled at the word before sighing quietly, "Even if he's a hard head, that boy's still a dumbass."

"I'd have to agree." Sakura nodded, "Naruto's draining himself beyond repair… I think."

"I don't even know how he's staying upright." The Uchiha mumbled out, "I would have already passed out for the day if I used my chakra day in, day out for who-knows-how-long and he's barely eaten during that time."

"He's a strong kid." Tsunami sighed, looking down at her hands, "However, he's still that, a kid. I fear for your friend's health."

Sakura and Sasuke gave each other a knowing look of understanding.  _"I fear for him too."_ They both thought, thinking back to everything Naruto had done for them in the past. While self-sacrificing, he's being stupid by trying to do everything without rest. But that's okay, for now at least because when he finally falls Sasuke and Sakura will be right there to catch him.

And there's nothing Naruto can do about it.

* * *

It was dusk when Hiruzen and his former student, Jiraiya, arrived at the city of Tanzaku Quarters  **(1)**. People cooed at each other from corner stores, most carrying varying bottles of alcohol. Some women winked at Jiraiya, motioning for him to come over to their side of the street. Had the older man not been on a job right now, the Toad Sannin probably would have waltzed over to the ladies for some fun.

However, one glance at the dangerous look Hiruzen carried was enough to make him politely decline the offer with a shaky smile.

"Which bar?" The Third Hokage questioned emotionless.

"It should be just around the corner, Bluebell Bar or something like that." Jiraiya pointed in the direction, a small area off to the left.

He nodded, thinking for a moment, "Are you sure that she'll be here?"

The white-haired man shrugged, "It was the last location I was given from my spies. She usually stays in a town for about a week and it's only been a few days since I've been given my information."

He gave another nod, pulling his hat just a little farther down his face, "Hopefully, she'll come back without much fuss. I'd hate to do anything drastic at my age."

Jiraiya scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "You've been doing drastic things for most of your life. You don't just stop as you get older – that shit  _stays_ in your blood."

"And I guess being a pervert and story-teller is in  _your_ blood." Hiruzen's mouth quirked up, obviously amused by the exchange.

"You wound me, Hiruzen- _sensei_." He snorted out, a mocking tone lacing his words as they continued through the street.

"Name-calling then, huh? To see that you've fallen short of the man I had hoped you would become." The Hokage shook his head, tsking disappointedly.

"What?!" Jiraiya looked shocked, hands flinging out in exasperation, "All I did was call you my teacher, you old bag of bones."

"Ah, so I'm an 'old bag of bones' now?" He smirked before sighing slowly, "You haven't called me sensei in a  _long_ time. I'm not very familiar with the…  _endearment_ of that word."

The Sannin rolled his eyes, "Please don't go sappy on me, I might faint." He made a mocking motion with his hand, fanning it in front of his face with puppy-dog eyes for show.

"You're hopeless," Hiruzen stated quickly before entering the bar.

"Oh, you son of a bitch." Jiraiya huffed, following the older man in.

Bluebell Bar was a busy and somewhat popular place that opened up not too long ago in the white district of Tanzaku Quarters. Even at dusk, the bar was already filled to the brim with paying customers, most drunk of their asses on barstools or at three-people tables. On the far right were rounded booths that could hold at least eight people in them; most were already filled with cheering crowds who were talking adamantly amongst themselves.

The Konohagakure ninjas stood near the door for a few seconds, eyes searching amongst the rowdy crowd near the pool tables. The moving room was dominated with men spouting off drunken slurs, downing more shots than their bodies could take. However, even over the blaring music and the screaming monkeys all around them, Jiraiya could clearly hear the squeal of a pig.

"Shizune's here," Jiraiya informed, having to lean his head closer to his former teacher in order for the Third Hokage to hear him over the obnoxious noise all around them.

"Do you see her?" Hiruzen questioned quickly, already moving to the middle of the dance floor.

He shook his head, "Nope, but give me a second. I'm going to check with the bartender. There's absolutely no  _way_ someone could miss them." The Sannin shifted around drunken bastards, heading for a barstool to plop down in. He waited for a moment until the bartender passed by him. "Excuse me." The older man called out, waving a hand for his attention.

The bartender stopped, turning to face Jiraiya, "How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you'd seen a woman with blond hair and a  _big_ rack." He enunciated his words with his hands, hovering them over his pecks, "She's most likely with another woman – dark-haired and probably carrying a pig. Do you know if either of them is here?"

There was a look on the other man's face, a calculating glaze over his eyes, "Nope, never seen someone like that."

Jiraiya reached into his pocket, pulling out a bag about the size of his palm and setting it on the bar, "Are you sure?"

The bartender looked at the bag, peeking around the room for a moment before snatching the bag and pocketing it, "Both are at one of the party booths probably already drunk. The blond one ordered over two dozen shots and three bottles of sake. I'm not sure if she'll be the…  _conversing_ type after all that. The younger one though…"

"Thanks." He grinned, stepping away from the bar and heading over to where his former teacher was leaning against the wall.

"Well?"

"She's here." Jiraiya motioned for the older man to follow him, "Bartender says that she'll probably be drunk."

They walked down one of the alleys, heading to the back of Bluebell Bar in silence. Their eyes scoped the booths, seeing man after man before spotting the back of a woman's head. By the dark look of it, Jiraiya assumed that it must have been Shizune. They rounded up behind her, both slipping into one of the seats to stare the younger woman down. The pig in her arms squealed with wide eyes, tapping her hooves against her owner. Shizune's eyes bugged out, mouth dry in complete shock.

The white-haired man looked around. "No sign of Tsunade." He whispered to his former teacher.

Hiruzen nodded solemnly before directing a smile at the shocked woman, "Good evening, Shizune."

"L-Lord Third!" She squeaked in surprised, voice shot as nervousness settled in her stomach, "Tsunade-sama will  _kill_  you if she sees you here."

"So she is around?" He quirked an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat, "Guess we're going to have to wait around for a little while longer."

The dark-haired woman fiddled with her shirt, evading all eye-contact, "Sir, I  _really_ don't think that-"

"Do you know where she is?" Jiraiya interrupted, taking one of the remaining shots on the tray for himself. He got a dirty look from the Third Hokage but he continued to drink.

"She went to the bathroom, Jiraiya-sama." She answered politely, peeking up just a bit, "May I ask what you two are doing here so late at night?"

Hiruzen blinked slowly, "We could ask you the same, but the answer is quite obvious isn't it."

"Babysitting Tsunade again." The Toad Sannin answered for her, swinging his arm back with another shot.

"Yes, sir." Shizune sighed out, eyes shutting for only a moment, "But you still haven't answered my question, Lord Third."

"It's because I don't like to repeat myself and I've been forced to do that multiple times these last week." He gave a frustrated look before reaching for a glass himself.

Her eyes opened, wide with worry, "Sir, I really don't think it's wise for you to be here. Tsunade-sama is intoxicated right now and will most definitely attempt to kill you for being here."

"You're damn right I will." The older woman's voice came from behind the booth, Shizune's eyes homing in on her. She stalked forward, sitting down beside her apprentice before giving the men a dangerous glare.

"And a 'nice-to-see-you' too," Jiraiya grumbled under his breath, mouth hidden behind the light-colored glass.

"Get out." The blond growled out lowly, grabbing for the bottle of sake in front of her rather greedily, "I told you, I will  _never_  go back to Konoha,  _especially_  if there is a war coming up."

Hiruzen's jaw tightened then went slack as he contained his anger. "So, you have been getting my letters," He began instead, getting a malicious stare from her, "thought you might have died."

The woman gave a sarcastic chuckle at her former teacher's comment, finishing off the bottle in a few quick guzzles, "Well, as you can see, I'm still very much alive and I'd like to stay that way."

"Not for long though." Hiruzen simply shrugged, staring at her from behind his cup of tea, "Between your drinking and gambling problems, it's definitely plausible that your time is soon."

Tsunade glowered at him, grinding her teeth, "You should leave before I lose my temper."

"When do you not." He knew that he was playing a dangerous game with the medic before him if the shocked gaze from Jiraiya said anything. Messing with this woman when she was coherent was one thing, but poking a drunken tiger was on a completely different level of stupid.

Instead of retaliating with something condescending, she simply scoffed, "What do you want,  _Sarutobi_?" His clan's name was spoken with such venom that he would have been offended had he not reminded himself that this wasn't for him.

This was for Naruto.

"I want you to come back to the village to replace a candidate for the war that's coming up." He stated plainly, "Your medical prowess is needed on all forms to protect the village."

"Really? That's it?" Tsunade rolled her eyes, scoffing, "You've been wanting me to come back to the village for  _decades_ and my answer has always been  _no_."

Jiraiya crossed his arms, no longer interested in the alcohol, "Tsunade, please just hear the guy out."

"We just need your help for what's to come. You can leave the village afterward, I really wouldn't care so long as the village is taken care of." Hiruzen explained with little facial expression except for the will of fire in his eyes.

She growled lowly, "That's the thing – I  _don't_ care."

He slammed his hands against the table, glaring at the woman in front of him, "You  _should_ care since it is still  _your_ village."

"Konoha took  _everything_ from me, like hell it's still my village." Tsunade hissed out, the same fire burning in her own eyes.

"Come back to the village," Hiruzen stated out slowly, leaning back against the seat.

The blond-haired woman rolled her eyes, venom in her words, "And why should I do that?"

The Third Hokage can feel the anger burning underneath his skin – it's flowing in his veins – but he has to keep calm despite the clear disrespect directed his way. "Because the attack will be centered during the Chunnin Exams where hundreds of people will be – men, women, children, and aspiring ninja… the future generations – and I need you to be there so no one dies." He explains as calmly as he was physically able to be.

Tsunade gives her apprentice a dark look, "People die all the time." She turns her head to face her former teacher, giving both him and Jiraiya a sneer. "You people only want me for my abilities." She takes another sip of sake, slamming the bottle down on the table, "You are just amongst the many who want to  _use_ me."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune blinks in retaliation, seeing the anger flashing through the Hokage, "You can't just  _say_ that – it's completely disrespectful."

 _Use_.

The word echoed in Hiruzen's mind for a moment, sadness plaguing his heart. "I wouldn't care if you left after the attack." He stated quietly, "Please, I don't want any more people to die in vain."

Tsunade's eyes gleam in mischief, "Well, that's a first."

"That's it." His jaw tightened, leaning over the table, a dangerous aura surrounding him, "Listen here, you vile woman, I came here to ask for one last favor because I don't want another young medic to die a pointless death because you're too self-centered and selfish about your own needs instead of thinking about the health and well-being of your own  _village_."

Amber eyes blinked in surprise, a dazed look over her face, "What… What the fuck did you just say?"

The old Sarutobi man narrowed his eyes, "You are still a member of Konohagakure, act like it."

Anger lit up like a flame, "Now you listen here, you old piece of shit, I have-"

"Alright!" Jiraiya bellowed out, hands held out between the two. Shizune sent him a grateful – albeit nervous smile. "Calm down. I think we can have… somewhat of a civilized conversation."

Tsunade huffs, crossing her arms and thinks for a moment. This is no longer about whether she's present in the village or not. She eyes her former teacher, "Spill it. Who'd die if I wasn't in the village?

"Naruto Uzumaki."

She doesn't say anything for a moment but sort-of recognized the name. That boy's the nine-tailed Jinchuriki as well as the Fourth Hokage's son. However, she couldn't really care less. He was a nobody to her – why should she have to lay down her life for him.

Due to the silence, Hiruzen continues to speak, "He's a pretty young gennin but he's a compassionate medic with a big heart and so many aspirations for life. The day before he became a medic, he acquired the multi-shadow clone jutsu and uses them quite frequently now that he's gotten the hang of it."

"That's not possible. Most people die upon using that jutsu – their bodies simply cannot sustain the strain of splitting their chakra in equal parts." She comments rather boredly.

"You forget that Naruto is an Uzumaki as well as a jailer." The old man counters, "If you hadn't caught onto this, the point I was trying to make is that there are very  _clear_ similarities between his multi-shadow clone jutsu and your slugs."

"Oh? How so?" She looked mildly interested but Hiruzen knew it would take a lot for her to finally see where he was getting at.

The Third Hokage looks down at his hands, "Naruto's use of the multi-shadow clone jutsu helps to create identical copies of himself in order to heal multiple people at once."

"Yeah, that's kind of the premise of using that jutsu." Tsunade scoffed.

"If you do not come back to the village, I will be forced to…  _use_ him in your place. He will be needed to heal any wounded person in Konoha during the attack." Hiruzen looked older as the words finally flowed through his mouth, a sadness settling in his eyes, "I am fearful, Tsunade. Naruto is young and could die or even be incapacitated after the attack."

Tsunade downs more sake and just sits there with a serious stare. Silence envelops the group, both Jiraiya and Shizune sending each other worrying glances. "So," The blond-haired woman started out, "who taught the brat medical ninjutsu? Not many people know what to do with all that information."

Hiruzen tried not to smile, knowing that his former student was definitely curious by now. "He's self-taught." By the shocked look sent by the medic before him, he continues, "Naruto volunteers at the hospital – he might even work there, I'm not entirely sure – but he's  _almost_ finished critiquing his offensive-style attacks to be a better asset to his team."

"That doesn't mean anything." She rolled her eyes, "I was self-taught. I helped out in the hospital during my teenage years and I had long since developed an offensive-style during battle. He's not special, Hiruzen, as long as you don't count that jutsu."

Hope could be seen slowly dying in the old man's eyes, stomach dropping as his mouth went dry, "Tsunade, please, I beg of you… come back to the village. Don't make me do that to him."

"It's not  _my_ problem!" She countered, "You decided to be the Hokage again after Minato died."

"I had no choice." He growled out.

"Not. My.  _Problem._ " The older woman held her ground, grinding her teeth together, "Naruto is not my problem, the attack isn't either. The village doesn't  _need_ me, not my problem."

"Please…"

"I refuse to go back, Hiruzen, and that's  _it_." Tsunade hissed out, finishing off the sake bottle in one last guzzle.

Hiruzen couldn't believe what he was hearing from the one person who could take Naruto's spot, couldn't believe that it's finally come to this. He remembered all those mornings before school when the boy had just started picking up medical ninjutsu. He runs in with a large smile and an inquiring gleam in his eye. And on those mornings, the Third Hokage would always ask:

" _What can I help you with today?"_

Naruto would spout off a rapid fire of questions, wishing for his 'Jiji' to answer them to the best of his abilities. They could be simple questions involving need-to-know ninja basics or something a little more complicated. The older man had always listened to the boy's rambling with a soft smile on his face. And if Hiruzen had been able to answer them all, the young medic-in-training would grin up at him and say:

" _Thank you so much, Jiji! I won't let you down."_

" _I know you won't."_ He'd always replied because Naruto was going to go places, was going to be the greatest medic out there. Hiruzen was always so  _damn_ proud of that boy and wanted the best for him. The Hokage knew potential when he saw it; the will of fire burning deeply in the young medic would never die so long as Naruto continued to keep growing.

" _Thank you so much, Jiji. You've already helped me so much, how can I ever repay you?"_

" _The only way you could ever repay me is to stick to your dream and become someone great one day."_

Naruto was his grandson in everything but blood and he'd do anything to make sure that he's well, that he has everything he needed in life. He tried his best, tried to do everything right by that boy.

" _I know I keep thanking you, but you've just done so much for me."_ There is never enough Hiruzen could do for him, for the kid who has no idea what's going on right now. He's doing Naruto wrong by this.

" _It's quite alright. You have a dream that you want to achieve so I won't stop you in your path to greatness. Instead, I want to help you on your journey."_ However, his path to greatness leads to one of the rotten things about running a village: sacrificing those who can do the job to an unrelenting destiny.

" _I'll make you proud, Jiji!"_

" _You've already made me proud, Naruto."_

"That's it." Hiruzen growled out, startling those around since he'd been silent for a few minutes, "Tsunade Senju, since you refuse to come back to the village, I have no choice but to do this."

"Do what?"

He ignored the question, eyes shutting for a moment, "I didn't  _want_  to do this to you, but I have been pushed well beyond my limits." A dark look of anger spread across Hiruzen's face. He held his hand out, jaw tightening, "Under the premises of insubordination, disobeying a direct order from the Hokage, and for unauthorized travel outside the village walls, I hereby take away your citizenship of Konohagakure."

"W-What?" Tsunade's eyes widened in shock before she stood up with a fist raised in the air, "You…. You can't do that!"

"If you hit me, I will drag you back to Konoha by the skin of your teeth where you will be locked up until your inevitable death by forced detox from your alcoholism." He stood up, getting close to her face, eyes gleaming with fury, "The only way you will  _ever_ get this citizenship back is if you come back with me and use your abilities like the medic you were always  _meant_ to be."

Her fist lowered to her hip, but the stern ferocity did not leave her, "You're a madman if you think I'd ever go willingly to my death."

Hiruzen stopped for a moment before stepping away from the booth, Jiraiya right behind him, "Then you really are a terrible medic."

And with that, he left Tanzaku Quarters with a heavy heart and a destiny he could no longer avoid.

* * *

 **1.** _"…the city of Tanzaku Quarters."_ This is an actual city residing in Fire Country just west of Konohagakure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a pretty depressing and long author's note so, if you want to leave the chapter be, by all means, go. So, I'm going to apologize for disappearing from this story for a while despite still being able to post for other stories – those were pre-written but I was going to save them for something else. A lot has been going on and it was rather stressful.
> 
> For starters, I was getting behind in some of my summer work for school, so I had to stop working on stories to catch back up. However, that is no excuse because it was completely my fault for that. However, the main reason I disappeared was that on July 22nd, my dad got into a serious car accident. A drunk driver hit him while on his way to work early that morning. It shattered my dad's hip – breaking it in two (?) places – and broke his femur in three (?) places. Not to mention all the glass that cut him as well as a bit of head trauma – don't worry, he had a small concussion but there is no brain damage.
> 
> Though, he had to be life-lighted (helo-ed?) over to a hospital an hour away – I won't reveal the hospital since I don't want anyone to find me. Well, the trip from my house to the hospital to see my dad and then the same hour trip back home almost every other night was truly exhausting. I stayed a few nights with my dad just so he wouldn't be alone, but it was very emotionally draining to see him in so much pain.
> 
> He had to have two surgeries during his week's stay at the hospital. He had one on his femur the day after he arrived at the hospital and then another two (?) days later. My dad was in a lot of pain from the surgeries and it made me want to cry all the time, but I had to be strong for my mom and my sisters who were steadily falling apart.
> 
> We hit some financial issues – couldn't get much money off my dad's ruined vehicle or insurance off the drunk guy that hit him – but we definitely tried out best. So, when my dad was finally able to come back home, my stress levels increased exponentially. My mom had to take extra hours at work to sustain the family since my dad couldn't work for obvious reasons. We had family members and family friends come over almost every day for a week to help around the yard or in the house but my introvert-self found that it was all too much to deal with them.
> 
> But this wasn't about me, so I refused to complain.
> 
> When everyone finally left and it was just my sisters and I taking care of our dad… I was the only one doing anything around the house. I cooked, I cleaned, and I did everything mom or dad expected or asked of me. My two sisters did jack-shit – waking up at one in the afternoon after I've slaved off in the kitchen or simply just playing video games instead of helping – so I was beyond mentally and physically exhausted.
> 
> But I still didn't complain because that wouldn't have been the right thing to do.
> 
> So, what I'm trying to say is that I am tired. I'm tired of being told what to do or when to do it. I'm tired of seeing my dad in pain and not being physically able to do all the things he'd been able to do. I'm tired of having to yell at both my older (by three years) and younger (by a year) sisters to shit around the house. And I'm just tired of being tired.
> 
> I apologize for this long-awaited chapter that sucked beyond repair but…hopefully, this will satisfy you long enough. I'll see when I can write something else, but I doubt that will be anytime soon. School starts tomorrow, and I am still exhausted. For those of you who read this entire thing, thank you and I'll see you next time.


	30. Foreboding, Awakening

 

It was dinnertime when everyone finally came back together again. Naruto had rather reluctantly headed back down the stairs – of his own accord, this time; it was progress – before sitting at the table. His face was a barren slate but the bags underneath his eyes and paled face told a different story to those who gave it a second glance. Sakura and Sasuke had helped Tsunami with dinner while Tazuna simply brought his grandson some food since Inari refused to eat with ninjas. The energy carried around the room was carefree and easy-going, even if they were all stressing in their own way.

However, the peacefulness was interrupted with a rapid fire of knocking on the front door, the sudden frantic sound nearly startling some out of their seats.

Sasuke is up in an instant, signaling for his teammates to stay back but close enough in case an attack was readied for them. He creaks the door open, only about half his face showing. There is a quivering man standing outside, pale-faced and in shock. Sasuke narrows his eyes suspiciously, making sure to scan the area behind the man before him, "May I help you?"

"Um… y-yes, Tsunami-chan wouldn't h-happen to be inside, would she?" The man mumbled out, pointing inside for emphasis.

"State your name and your relations to Tsunami-san." The Uchiha voiced out harshly, hand hidden behind the door readying itself near his kunai pouch.

He gave the gennin a look, bottom lip quivering – whether it be from the morning fog or fear, Sasuke would never know, "P-Please, I… I need to – no – I  _have_ to speak with her, it's… it's  _really_ important!"

The dark-haired teenager shook his head, "I'm sorry; what is your name and how do you know Tsunami-san?"

"I'm… I'm Hoshimaru, I've known Tsunami-chan for  _years_." The man explained exasperatedly, "I've  _got to_ speak to her, I'm just so… please, kid, is she-"

"Hoshi?" The quiet voice piped up from behind Sasuke, said gennin giving the woman an exasperated look at her arrival. This man could be out to hurt her or her father and she was looking ready to open her arms for him!

"Tsunami-chan, thank Kami, I need to speak with you!" Hoshimaru huffed looking rather relieved, a quivering smile gracing his hardened features.

The single mother nodded, pushing the boy back towards the table before opening the door more for the man, "Please, come in, you look terrible."

"Thank you." The man gave a short and rather sad laugh before taking a large step in, taking his jacket off and laying it over the loveseat.

"There is some extra water for some hot tea if you'd like a glass, Hoshi." Tsunami gave him a soft smile.

"That'd be fantastic, thank you so much." The light-haired man returned the expression, taking one of the two remaining seats at the table. The gennin of Team 7 eyed him suspiciously but did not say anything.

Tazuna hummed at the sight of the newcomer, "Hoshimaru, it sure has been a while. Where've you been? It's like we never see you anymore."

A cup of tea was placed in front of the man, a quiet 'thank you' coming from his lips. He didn't speak for a moment after that, though, trying to desperately collect his thoughts. "There's so much… It's just… I don't even know where to begin…" He admitted after a long stretch of silence, sighing quietly with his head bowed.

Tsunami laid a hand on his, giving him a reassuring smile, "It's alright, take as much time as you need."

Hoshimaru shook his head, "See, I don't have much time."

Naruto's head tilted, a calculating glaze of his eyes. He took the silence to quietly think of any medically potential problems that could result in someone not having much time left to live. He kept the thoughts to himself, instead turning to his client who started to speak. "What do you mean by that?" Tazuna looked concerned, furrowed eyebrows twitching in question, "Did something happen?"

Calloused fingers ran through light-colored hair as Hoshimaru huffed out a sigh, "Tazuna-san, I took up a different job a few months ago… that's why I disappeared all the sudden, why I stopped working on the bridge. I just… I thought that…" The rugged man shut his eyes, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Take a moment, Hoshi, just  _breathe_." Tsunami shushed patiently. The three gennin observed the interaction quietly, trying to pick up underlying pieces of the story here and there. This could always be a trap; they had to be sure that nothing bad was going to happen under their watch.

"I'm sorry, Tsunami-chan… Tazuna-san… I really am." The man before those at the table looked heartbroken, hands quivering with a guilty look in his eyes, "I took a – I needed to,  _had_ to – take a job from… f-from Gatō."

Fear spread through the gennin at a potential assassin trying to get a grab at Tazuna's head. Naruto readied his chakra, letting it give off a cool sensation in his fingertips but not completely activating it. Sakura had pulled out shuriken from underneath the table, jaw tightening in defense while their remaining teammate had yet to remove his hand from his kunai pouch. They readied for any attack.

Their client grits his teeth, though, hands tightening around his own mug of lukewarm tea, "Hoshimaru…  _kid_ , I've known you since you were a young boy and I  _know_ that you're not stupid. So, you better have a  _damn_  good reason to take a job from the one man that wants me  _dead_."

"Tazuna-san, my kids… my wife, they were  _dying_ … we were all starving to death. I couldn't buy anything for them, couldn't give them the medicine they needed." Hoshimaru's eyes welled up with tears, bottom lip quivering as his hands came out to express himself a little more, "You couldn't pay us workers much but we all appreciated what you were doing, what you were sacrificing for our small town. However, I couldn't… there was no way I could continue building that bridge."

"Oh, Hoshi…" Tsunami looked heartbroken, hand laying over her chest in sympathy.

"Sero, my baby boy, he… he died last month." The rugged man took a shaky breath, a single tear slipping out of his eye, "As my wife and I were b-burying him, we were approached by Gatō and… he said he could give me a job, help my family so none of my kids would starve to death again… I couldn't turn him down."

"I'm… I'm sorry for your loss." Tazuna looked up, a little choked up himself but there was understanding in his dark eyes, "… but what was the job?"

Hoshimaru shook his head solemnly, sniffling quietly, "Dragging around crates of who-knows-what over the borders… illegal substances, I'd bet. Gatō pays me in food, just enough to sustain my family."

"Gatō…" The dark-haired woman looked down at her hands before giving the man beside her a slow nod, "What do you need from us? It sounds like you still need some help."

"He came to my house a few nights ago – Gatō, I mean – with these  _thugs_  a-and they… they grabbed my wife, pushed her to the ground. They grabbed my kids by their heart a-and threatened me. He told me to cooperate or they'll take her away and kill my k-kids." He shuddered, covering his eyes with his tanned hands, "He… that  _man_ wanted me to do my best to 'fix' one of Gatō's prized bandits and, if he dies, my family's lives are at a cost. I tried  _everything_ , but the man's wounds were too severe and I don't  _nearly_ know anything advanced."

"So, what is it?" Tazuna questioned slowly.

"My daughter came to me last night, said that you were housing a doctor of some sorts." Eyes widened from across the table, some glancing at each other, "I was hoping to ask for their help. Please, I'll… I'll pay you a-anything you want. I just…  _please_."

Tsunami stood up, looking worriedly around their home and lowered her voice, "Where did your daughter hear this? Who  _told_ her?!"

"W-What?"

"Hoshimaru,  _no one_ is supposed to know about that," Tazuna stressed out painfully.

"Your boy – Inari, wasn't it? – hung out with her by the water yesterday." The light-haired man explained, looking between the woman and her father, "He said that you had a doctor."

"He is  _so_ grounded." Tsunami whispered out harshly, sitting back down stiffly. She gave an apologetic look towards the three gennin at the opposite end of the table, the glance going unnoticed by the newcomer.

Hoshimaru looked between everyone at the table, "Please… for my family, I  _need_ a doctor."

Silence filled the room, unsure what to do about their situation. Tazuna and Tsunami stared at the three kids with sorrowful eyes; they knew the cost of what could happen should Gatō found out that there were ninjas in their small town. They were fearful for them, especially their teacher still unconscious upstairs.

Naruto stood up after another moment of stressful silence. "Please let us deliberate on the matter at hand before we make our decision. We cannot be certain as to whether your words are true or not." Hoshimaru stared at the blond as he headed for the stairs, motioning for the others to follow him. The medic looked over his shoulder as his teammates as well as his client got up from their seats, "Do you mind waiting down here?"

"Of… Of course." The man blinked in inquiry at the boy's formal tone of voice. He wrung his hands for a moment, "I promise that I'm telling the truth."

"We will give you our verdict soon." The young gennin was already on the second floor, heading for the second guest bedroom – the one that didn't house their unconscious teacher. Tazuna and his daughter, as well as Naruto's teammates, followed him there without a word until they were situated inside the old room.

"So, what are you thinking, Naruto?" Sakura started out, sitting down on the old bed.

The medic turned towards Tazuna, "Gatō is the man who is after your head, right?" There was a small nod and a glance towards his daughter. "What are your opinions right now?" Naruto questioned, arms crossed over his chest, "Do you trust this guy's words?"

"Well," Tazuna started, "Gatō is a  _menace_  and always plans ahead but I've never met him in person, only seen pictures of him before. I've been told that he is a rather ruthless man and will stay true to his word."

Sasuke raised a delicate eyebrow, "And that means?"

"If he says he'll take Hoshimaru's wife for himself and kill the kids, he'll do exactly that." Their client stated, stuffing his calloused hands into his worn shorts, "He uses people's weaknesses against them and since Hoshimaru's was starvation as well as the fear of losing another one of his family members, Gatō will use that against him for as long as he's… useful."

Naruto nodded slowly, a calculating glaze over his eyes, "So, you're saying that you trust Hoshimaru?"

Dark eyes looked up, "He's never told a lie before, why would he start now?"

" _There is more than one reason to lie."_ The medic thought to himself as he turned to look at his daughter, "And what about you, Tsunami-san? You call him by 'Hoshi' rather than his full name; you must have a deeper connection to him and his family because of that. What do you have to say about this? Is this something you might agree to?"

All eyes turned towards the dark-haired woman who shifted rather uncomfortably in her seat.

"I've known Hoshi since I was a young girl; we practically grew up together. I'd say that we're almost family at this point… he's like my older brother if you will." Tsunami gave a short chuckle, looking down at her clasped hands sitting still in her lap, "Father already said this but, I can confirm that Hoshi hasn't ever lied… to us at least. When we were young, he expressed how much he despised lying and always tried not to. It was something his mother had taught him when he was a boy."

Sakura leaned forward slightly, "That's… that's really honorable."

"Yeah." She hummed, giving her father a look, "And what I saw back there, at the table… that was all said with truthfulness." The dark-haired woman looked to be closing in on herself then, looking away. She must have been remembering something if her glazed eyes were anything to go by.

Sakura glanced between their client and his daughter a few times, "Could this all be a rouse? Something to get some of Tazuna-san's protection away from him."

"I'd thought the same thing." Sasuke agreed, "We can't be sure that Inari only mentioned a doctor; he may have said that ninjas were protecting his grandfather with descriptions of what our appearance was."

"Look, Hoshi's  _never_  liked to ask for help, so I truly believe everything that he's told us. He really must have tried everything that he could to help that bandit if he's crawling to us." Tsunami glanced up at the medic, staring into his sky-blue eyes with a ferocity of her own, "He's no doctor, Naruto, only has basic first-aid knowledge absolutely  _no_  experience."

"I see." The blond-haired medic stated before looking to his teammates with a calculating glaze over his eyes, "The final decision falls on you two."

"Why us?" Sasuke questioned, tilting his head to the side.

He thought for a moment before homing in on the Uchiha, "I'm all in to help anyone that needs it, but this isn't just an 'I'm-the-medic-so-I-can-do-whatever-I-want' thing. This could potentially be a trap and I  _need_  to know that everyone is on board with this."

Silence filled the room once more, engulfing them all in its depths of quietness. The potential for an ambush could destroy the team – if the enemy were to be lying and waiting to take out their medic who was their only source of first-aid. Without the medic to keep the team glued together, Team 7 might have to abandon their mission, leaving their client to the wolves; graves would be awaiting Tazuna's family if they left.

"Should I do this?" Naruto elaborated once more, punctuating his words with an elegance that hinted to his 'medic-voice'.

Sakura sighed deeply, glancing up once before going to stare at her hands, "There  _is_  a good chance that this might be a trap, you know, to weed out the ninjas in the town but it could very well be true… that if Gatō's best bandit dies because of his injuries, a family will be destroyed."

"And we don't even know if Hoshimaru is the only family that will be affected." The Uchiha besides her interjected then, the kunoichi going to look at him with a glint in her eyes, "Gatō's recruited dozens and dozens of people, right?"

"Oh, absolutely." Tazuna stated, "I wouldn't doubt it for a second."

Sasuke nodded, directing the words towards Tsunami, "Well, who's to say that your friend is the only one?"

"True." The blond-haired gennin nodded, "So… am I doing this?"

"I think that's fine but… with everything that could go wrong, you should have some backup with you at all times." The Uchiha sounded reluctant to agree, an observation that Naruto kept to himself as his teammate continued, "Whether it be me or Sakura, you shouldn't go alone… just in case, you know?"

"Of course." The medic uncrossed his arms, "And Sakura?"

"I's have to agree, too." She stated quietly, "We can't be for sure that an attack will take place when you get there so, one of us should go with you."

"Alright." Naruto pointed to the Uchiha, "I think you should stay here."

"Uh…" Sasuke tilted his head, a curious glint in his dark eyes, "Not that I mind but, why?"

"As of right now, I believe you have more energy between you and Sakura – no offense." He stated, giving the kunoichi a pointed look.

She raised her hands in defense, "None taken."

The blond-haired gennin nodded before waving a hand of emphasis for his next words, "So, in case this is just a ploy to get the only person with medical knowledge away from our client, you'll be here to protect them."

"But Naruto, I'd be the only one here and what if they bring ninjas? We had a tough time taking down Kakashi-sensei during our  _gennin exam_  – and he's only  _one_  Jonnin. Gatō probably has dozens of Chunnin-leveled shinobi at his disposable." Sasuke pointed out, a hint of aggression in his voice, "I wouldn't have any backup."

Naruto sighed heavily, the words 'Chunnin-leveled shinobi' making his stomach churn for a moment. While his battle with a rogue ninja had been quick, it'd definitely caught him off-guard – could have killed him if he wasn't a medic. What would it be like to fight much more cautious shinobi in groups, ninja who didn't have any ties to people – who weren't out for revenge on Naruto for murdering dozens of men in the forests – and were under strict orders to kill him?

He'd never last, it'd be his last moments on Earth.

"Look," Naruto began slowly, rubbing the back of his head for reassurance, "I don't know what to tell you. There are only three able-bodied ninjas here – if you can really say that." He turned towards his teammates, almost fully facing them. "Sasuke, you're still recovering most of your energy from being poisoned and Sakura's wrist still needs a day or two to completely recover from all the stress." He dragged a shaky hand through his hair, "I'm running on fumes at this point, so  _please_ deal with it."

The raven-haired Uchiha huffed, looking away but worry clung to his heart, "Fine, I'll watch the house."

"I'll leave you some clones so that-"

"No," Sasuke interrupted once more, shaking his head furiously, "don't waste your chakra on that. Save it for the bandit."

"You were just complaining about no backup, at least take a few and seal them." The medic pleaded, "It'd make me feel better."

That's all Naruto had to say for the other boy to start nodding, albeit a little solemnly, "Fine."

Naruto returned to make a gesture before heading for the door, "Come on, we've already wasted that man's precious time. I'm going to go grab my stuff, I'll meet you all downstairs." He left without an answer, crossing the hallway in two steps where all his medical supplies were still being housed in the room Kakashi was currently at. Footsteps sounded off on the stairs, talking commencing down there.

The blond-haired gennin rummaged through the room, pulling things off the table beside his teacher's bedside and stuffing them into one of the dozen pockets littering his medical bag. He looked to his teacher, "You're going to be okay, Kakashi-sensei, I promise."

Naruto went back to his bag, slinging a smaller one over his shoulder before prepping his other one. As he was zipping up one of the compartments filled with bottles of Lidocaine and other numbing agents, the teenager suddenly stopped, feeling a wave of dizziness plaguing him. "Shit…" He cursed quietly.

He's learned of a new side-effect of using booster pellets – using a large amount of chakra and/or energy throughout the time after ingesting one of those pills decreases the overall effect of the actual pill meaning that a person would have to use more than one for it to be actually effective in the long run.

The medic pulled the bag over his shoulders, securing it on his back as he stood back up on shaky knees. He promised his teammates that he would try to sleep once some of the previous booster pellets he'd taken earlier wore off – Naruto should have suspected the new side-effect then, he mused – however, he doubted that he'd be any help to the injured bandit if he was always dizzy.

With his resolve solidified, the blond-haired gennin reached into his pocket for another one of those pills, popping it into his mouth almost instantly afterward. It took a few seconds for him to feel the effects but once the dizziness seeped away from his weary bones, Naruto nodded to himself and headed downstairs.

Tsunami was doing her best to distract Hoshimaru, fussing over the man getting a bite to eat or have another glass of tea when the medic finally headed for the table. She smiled at him – an anxious one albeit, "Are you ready now?"

"Of course, Tsunami-san." He nodded, shifting the bag on his back, "Hoshimaru, it'd be best to formally introduce myself."

"Huh?"

The blond held out a tanned hand, "Naruto Uzumaki, medic of Konohagakure. I'm the one who'll be healing this bandit of Gatō's."

Shock coursed through the older man, hand reaching out to shake Naruto's as quickly as possible, "What, but you're just – wow, so young! A-Are you sure you're a doctor, I just-"

"Hoshimaru, please, I know what I'm doing. I'm just hoping that the trust that my team and I are putting in you is returned, that you trust that we are here to help." He explained quietly, releasing the man's hold, "I'm going to have one of my teammates escort us to wherever this bandit is."

"Of course."

He gave a short smile, pulling off his Konohagakure headband off his arm and setting it on the table, "Gatō and his men are to not know where we came from, is that understood, Hoshimaru? Fail to do so and our entire mission will be compromised."

"Yeah, sure." The older man mumbled out, still shell-shocked.

"Sakura."

"Already ahead of you." She had finished pulling it off her waist, her red combat-ready dress flowing much more freely now.

Naruto nodded, flying through some hand signs as a couple of clones popped into existence. They bowed to their creator, saluting towards him before taking a synchronized step backward. Within a flurry of movements, the two clones were sealed away in a carrier scroll. The blond-haired gennin handed it off to his teammate before giving a curt nod, "Well, shall we?" He waved towards the front door, Sakura standing up to follow the blond out.

"O-Of course." Hoshimaru scrambled to stand up, furiously thanking both the ninjas and Tsunami for everything they've done for him – the food and drinks – as well as what they'll be helping him with in the future – the healing of Gatō's bandit. Grabbing his jacket and slipping it on with haste, the older man followed the ninjas out the door.

Naruto hoped he wasn't making a fatal mistake, eyes scanning the area. However, he simply couldn't get this foreboding feeling to leave him.

* * *

The first thing that Kakashi could recall upon consciousness – of all things – was that Sasuke's birthday was coming up as well as the Chunin exams. It was a weird string of thoughts that procured the dates. The twenty-third of July would be when Sasuke finally turned thirteen – or was it fourteen? They grow so fast that he has trouble remembering. The first or second week of that same month would be when eager genin could participate in a ninja exam that allowed for them to bump up in rank.

A swell of excitement and pride pulled at his aching chest for - wait! – his chest wasn't supposed to do that.

The second thing that Kakashi was finally able to think of – what he could remember of… how long ago was this? – was that he was on a mission. Why is he on a mission if one of his kid's birthday is coming up or, for a matter of importance, why's he doing this with the Chunin exams just around the corner? Kakashi wonders in silence, thinking about what Sasuke would want for his birthday and if he'd like – huh… Sasuke…

Where's Sasuke?

The twenty-something-year-old man took a deep breath, could feel his ribs aching with just a little more force. Something happened to him who-knows-how-long-ago, but he simply couldn't remember; there's this thick  _fog_ covering over a layer of memories. Kakashi liked being able to say he had a pretty decent memory – able to remember even some of the more finer moments of his life, of the emotions or his thought process from some long-forgotten time – so the inability to remember what happened to him just made everything worse.

The silver-haired man tried to shake off the distractions pulling his string of thoughts this or that way. He tried to break it down, but he was distracted by the fragrance of something strong puncturing his heightened sense of smell. It wafted off in waves, powerful ones that made his nose scrunch up in discomfort. Kakashi tried again to concentrate, trying to simply settle on the whereabouts of one of his students.  _One_ of his students… more than one. Something stirred in his mind.

There's more than  _one_ student, right? That's what this had to mean, the whereabouts of  _one_ of his  _students_.

More  _students_.

The man gave an internalized sigh of frustration, a headache drawing blanks in his mind where perfect memories should be settling into place by now. He's got to break it down again; start with Sasuke, it suggested, think back to his birthday. There's something rubbing against each other in his mind, creating a friction that Kakashi could only assume was something coming back to him. Birthday, think back to the birthdays. One of his kids just had a birthday; who was it? What did she want? It was something specific, something that only Kakashi could get her because of his rank but he couldn't remember what it – wait! –  _her_!

Her.

 _Her_  birthday.

The twenty-eighth of March.

It was the change of seasons from winter to spring when her birthday – who is she though? – took place. The green vegetation that Kakashi had been ready to see after a particularly bland winter had been late to take on its colors. He could clearly – well, maybe not  _clearly_ – remember that there were these pink trees filled with sakura blossoms. Usually, they would have decided to show their buds in the early weeks of January, but they too were a little late this year, not deciding to bloom until early March. Something about Sakura blossoms, pink, March… her.

The sakura trees.

It was Sakura.

Sakura.

Relief flowed through him, finally being able to recall another of his students. There was Sasuke and now there's Sakura – his kids. When had they become his kids? It seems like a sudden thought running through the Jonin's head right then. He wasn't married, didn't even want a lover of any kind; kids were probably the farthest thing from his mind right now.

Plus, he's on a mission right now.

Sleepiness pulled at his remaining strings of consciousness, something that tickled the back of his mind. Kakashi internally hummed, feeling the exhaustion starting to cover his tired muscles. Not only was his sudden lethargy from the physical aspects of…  _whatever_ happened to him, but he was still recovering from his sudden rollercoaster of thoughts, despite hoping for another breakthrough in his pause of memories. There was no breakthrough, though, just this gnawing on the back of his head that he's missing something – it's something definitely important because his stomach is doing that  _thing_ again.

Or maybe he's just hungry – when was the last time he ate again?

Kakashi thought back to his meal choice from before, remembering his small home off in one of the Jonin districts. The recollection of memories allowed the young man to procure an image of him munching on some cheese toast – a simple breakfast, really, he hadn't been that hungry – early one morning before a mission – what mission though?! He could remember drinking something – was it water or orange juice? – later that morning while stopping?

When did he stop? Where did he stop at? Why did he stop in the first place? What was he stopping for?

… _who_ was he stopping for?

There was a sudden flash of memories, layering on top of a headache. Through the pangs of pain stabbing his temple, Kakashi could see that the retention was of a sweating child just gripping onto the strings of reality, a feverish kid who was injured. A boy with blue lips, breathing through his mouth because his nose refused to work anymore. Another pang showed his pale skin seeming to get a sickly color to it. His kid said something about being cold despite the fever clinging to him and the afternoon heat stabbing at the backs of their necks.

A boy with matted raven hair, dark and pitiful eyes closed in pain.

It was Sasuke. He was sick.

Kakashi's heart thumped with anxiety, unable to move from…  _wherever_ he was. Where's Sasuke? Is he around? Is he  _okay_? He's got to be okay. The Jonin entrusted someone with Sasuke's overall wellbeing since he hadn't been able to provide his kid with the things he needed at that moment… whenever that moment had happened, that is. It couldn't have been Sakura – she was there right? – because she had looked sad then… why was she sad again?

Memories slipped from him, the fog more pronounced now. It made Kakashi's mind fuzzy, muddying his thought-process and simply making him sleepier as time went on. To anyone who asked – though, he doubted anyone had the time of day to ask about the inner machinations of his mind – he would tell them that he tried to fight the sleep off, but the man simply couldn't, too exhausted by his mind's adventures through the past. He still couldn't figure out how much time had passed as he zoned in and out of consciousness – was he even alive?

There was a quiet shuffling throughout his room – he was assuming at this point because Kakashi still wasn't  _entirely_ awake – that broke through his muddy thoughts. He felt consciousness creeping up on him for a moment, eyes still shut through his listening. The silver-haired man's hearing homed in on the noise, hearing as things slid across the floor and zippers were sounding off in that direction.

It stopped for a moment before a voice whispered through the silence. "You're going to be okay, Kakashi-sensei, I promise." It sounded way too familiar to be anything but a coincidence that this person knew his name. It sounded worried but confident, something that he felt like he should just  _know_.

It was one of those sounds that you could hear out-of-context and still pinpoint who had said it. Those were words – that tone! – that Kakashi  _knew_ that he should, well,  _know_. The tone, the slight shake of their voice at the end was something uncanny to people; it belonged to one person and he can feel his head tingling with the sensation of just  _knowing_. Kakashi tried to desperately move his body to be  _just_ a little closer to the sound, to hear it once more.

If only he could pinpoint it, Kakashi could go back to sleep happy. However, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back, so he would fight to figure this all out.

The quiet shuffling turned into a loud tripping, someone stumbling through the room. The sound startled Kakashi's head so much so that it gave him a blinding headache for nearly an entire minute. It split his skull in half, the sound of something so  _loud_ just shattering the peaceful quietness that filled the fog with a bright and blinding light. Had Kakashi been more awake than just simply bleeding in and out of consciousness, he might have groaned and asked whoever was out there to  _shut the fuck up_.

"Shit." A shaky voice whispered out, stomping over to one of the walls – again, assuming he's in a room or somewhere civilized – and messing with some type of cloth. There was a pregnant pause before a large  _crunch_  sounded off the walls – still assuming. The munching of…  _whatever_ was a little sickening to Kakashi as he felt like he was practically starving – maybe it's been days since the last time he's eaten.

Without another second, the door creaked – definitely somewhere civilized – and footsteps carried whoever down a set of stairs. Conversation floated from the floor underneath Kakashi, but he couldn't make out the words all that well. Frustration settled within him – who the hell was that? – as he desperately tried to comb through his memories.

Kakashi could feel his eyebrow twitch, something akin to furrowing his brows maybe? He wasn't all that sure that he had much control over his body with the fog still present over his brain. There was something he was missing that his stupid head wouldn't give the man access to. It was a name or a term, hell, maybe even just a simple action like…

Like a promise.

" _You'll be okay, Kakashi-sensei, I promise."_

That's what this mystery-person said with a shake in his voice and a worried tone overlaying it. It was the quiver of the 'p' in the word 'promise' but why does the whole 'promise' thing matter so much? It's like a bell went off in Kakashi's head, dinging furiously like 'Yes! That's it! Use this! This is it! It means something, I promise'.

But promises are a big thing, not anyone can just  _promise_ something.

Not anyone being…

…being…

A blank was drawn again, the fog turning his mind into a mush again.

The Jonin gave another internalized sigh of aggravation, taking deep breaths to ease his oncoming headache. He felt sick to his stomach – a worry he couldn't simply ebb away with every piece of information he was slowly collecting – but Kakashi simply couldn't make his mind  _work_. He was anxious but couldn't figure out why. There was a pit of worry in his core but what was causing it? There are Sasuke and Sakura to ease his mental inquiries but there's another one – he can feel it – but who?

Who is it? Where are they? Where did they go off to? Why are they promising things if they know he can't?

Promise.

There was a promise there, something morphing together in a brilliant display of light at the end of the tunnel.

He can't promise. But who is he?

Why is he promising that Kakashi will be alright?

Promise… promise,  _promise_!

Okay, he'll be okay, it's fine, he'll be alright, he'll be alright again, make sure he'll be okay.

 _"He'll be okay."_ The words flowed brokenly underneath the surface of Kakashi's own rushed thoughts.

 _"Can you… Can you promise me that he'll be okay?"_ Who'll be okay? Is it him, the mystery person who'll be okay? Or is it Kakashi, someone asking if the older man will be alright? Someone asked this same question. Did he ask this? Could it be Sasuke? No, Sasuke was sick – injured, his mind supplied – what happened to Sasuke?

 _"I'll do my best."_ Do his best. Who does their very best? There's one boy – Kakashi can  _feel_ it, he knows this boy – and he does his very best. But who? That voice was familiar; the name's on the tip of his tongue.

_"You promise?"_

Piercing blue-eyes seemed to wipe out the fog covering the Jonin's mind for good.  _"Sakura, as a medic, I cannot promise anything. I can only say that I'm going to do my very best to make sure that Sasuke gets better."_

That's it. Medic.

Sakura's and Sasuke's medic, their teammate. The last of Kakashi's kids, his medic, his student.

The young medic with a bright smile and always tried to do his best, who couldn't promise anything because he wanted recognition from the village.

Blue-eyes cleared his mind again.

 _Naruto_.

There's Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. An Uchiha, a Haruno, and an Uzumaki. They're genin under the tutelage of him, Kakashi Hatake.

And they're all on a mission.

Sasuke was hurt –  _poisoned,_ his mind corrected – and Naruto, being the great medic, tried his best but time was running out and Sakura was sad because her crush was sickly and their medic suggested running off.

Their group was split with his two boys heading for the woods while Kakashi took Sakura and their client – Taser or something, right? – towards the… water. There was water. Where is water? Kirigakure… no, they're not in a village; they wouldn't have that access. It's a wave… a large one with land. Land with waves – they headed for the Land of Waves.

Injuries. Pain. Blood and gore.

She's crying over him, nails digging into his torn shirt.

A cruel grin on a man's face, blood draining out his ears but the satisfaction in his eyes are uncanny –  _menacing, evil_  – before he falls to the ground. Who is he? Where did this masked guy go with their enemy? Why did everything go dark? Where is he? What  _happened_?

He's hurting; lungs burning, crumbling underneath a broken cage surrounding his precious organs, blood's draining out of his mouth.

She's sobbing over him,  _"Kakashi-sensei!"_

He's conscious but things are dark and he's hurting. He wants to sleep but she can't stop crying; his anxious heart cries out for her.

She cries for him.

Kakashi's eyes slowly opened to a discolored ceiling, yellowed from age with water spots here or there. Everything was too quiet, too…  _peaceful_. It was nice to relax after his mind struggled through his memories. The silver-haired man gave himself a minute to collect his thoughts – properly this time.

On a mission that Hiruzen Sarutobi – the Third Hokage of Konohagakure – the Demon Brothers of the Mist attacked their group of five, specifically targeting their client, Tazuna. They went for him first as he represented a Jonin, something to be feared among lower-ranked shinobi, but he disappeared before he could be hurt. His gennins – Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto – fought the brothers off with everything they had to offer but the former of the three were injured.

Poisoned, more specifically, and if that didn't scare Kakashi to the bone… He couldn't manage to finish the thought.

The man remembered his student's condition worsening over the course of a couple hours, Naruto desperately trying his best to find a way around the problem. Sakura's constant worry still plagues his mind with  _what-ifs_. And when the two boys finally left Kakashi's line-of-sight, his fear rates skyrocketed. The what-ifs returned.

What if they were attacked by bandits and bled out somewhere? He wouldn't know what to do with himself if two of his kids died.

What is Sasuke finally succumbed to the poison, leaving Naruto to grieve all by himself? Kakashi wouldn't know how to console the young medic about the grief he was probably feeling as he'd be dealing with his own sorrow.

What if they got lost, never to be found again? He would never stop searching for his kids, ever.

If he had to be honest with himself, his worries pulled his attention away from his surroundings at the wrong time. He and Sakura were attacked by a man by the name of Zabuza Momochi – the Demon of the Mist and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He truly was someone to be feared but that had never stopped Kakashi before and he wouldn't let it stop him now.

Within ten minutes, Zabuza had completely incapacitated him underneath the waves, drowning him right in front of one of his kids. Sakura watched with tears in his eyes, scared to move from her spot in front of Tazuna but,  _damn_  did she try to give the battle her all. Not once would she allow herself a break, fighting tooth-and-nail all on her own against a master assassin just to save his life.

With just the right shuriken, Zabuza was letting him go and allowing Kakashi some much-needed air as well as a power move against his opponent.

Together, he and his student battled against the tanned man, calling out strategies that they'd come up with during one of their many training sessions all those months ago. Kakashi remembers clearly that anytime Zabuza's sword came  _just_ a little too close, he'd push her out of the way, making sure she wouldn't be harmed.

In conclusion, Kakashi must have gotten hurt really bad because he was still feeling ghostly attacks on his skin.

He slowly sat up in the rickety bed, looking around with narrowed eyes. It was dark out if it was anything to tell by the lack of light coming in from the window. Medical equipment was spread evenly across the room, looking well-kept but used. It made his stomach churn a little bit with apprehension, tension settling into his back.

Kakashi glanced down at his uncovered chest, clad in only underwear. He gave himself a mini check-up, just to see what problems he was dealing with. With all the punches he took to the head – courtesy of Zabuza – the man guessed that he might have a concussion. From the bandages covering his torso from top to bottom, Kakashi could only assume that he'd either broken some ribs or was sporting some stitches at the moment – or both, it could definitely be both. And from the ache in his lungs, he could only guess that it was from his previous drowning.

The silver-haired man pulled back the covers to reveal dozens of bruises covering his arms and legs. On his right knees was a brace that put an uncomfortable amount of pressure there, probably broken if he was recognizing the brace correctly – he's broken enough bones to know.

Kakashi took a deep breath, simply taking the time to appreciate his life and Naruto's life-saving healing abilities – if he was assuming that the medic was the one to fix him up. He knew there was little he could do now that he was incapacitated – with injuries like these, yeah, he's not going to be doing anything extracurricular for a while – and that left for a fog of boredom to settle over him.

The creak of the stairs was sudden, the door opening to a sight he just hadn't been expecting then.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it's me again. I bring to you 7,000+ chapter that I had – mostly – prewritten. What was in this chapter was actually going to be the premises of Chapter 29 rather than being posted in Chapter 30 – which is why it's being published so close to the posting time of the previous chapter. Things were getting jumbled up a little and I felt like I needed to break it up into two parts, so things won't be repetitive. I'm sort of happy with this chapter, well, I'm really happy about the second part of this.
> 
> I would also like to promise you this – Hoshimaru is not like a self-interest, an OC, or anything like that. He will contribute to the story, especially this arc. No, he is not going to be extremely important like Dr. Terra, Dr. Yiruma, or Dr. Chakochi are so I don't want to see anything in the comments about him in this; thank you.
> 
> However, I'd also like to take the time to thank everyone who commented about my situation that I mention in the author's note at the end of the last chapter. I tried to message or reply to everyone that said something about it – an own personalized thank-you note because I really don't deserve any of you – and I apologize if I wasn't able to get all of you. With school riding my ass a little so early into the school year as well as what's happening at home, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. You are all literally the best readers any author could have – I don't deserve any of you, but I thank you for staying with me.
> 
> I hope to work better on my mental health and become an author who'll post regularly for you all because you readers deserve it. I won't make this a chore, but it will definitely be in the back of my mind to remember all of you, to remember all of my stories. Thank you for reading this note – if you did, I mean – and I love you all. Until next time!
> 
> Don't forget my discord server (link posted in another chapter) or that you can now adopt stories from me (link posted on my Wattpad page). Thank you!


	31. A Job's a Job

The walk was mostly silent as the three made their way towards one of the temporary houses that this bandit was being stayed in. Hoshimaru was the one who broke the silence often, asking questions or simply thanking them, such as now.

"Thank you both so much." The older man bowed slightly, turning to them as they walked.

Naruto shook his head, a hand waving for him to stand properly, "We haven't done anything yet, there really is no need to thank us."

They were quiet for only a moment before Sakura's curiosity caught up to her. "So, this bandit," She began, tilting slightly on her heels, keeping step with the rugged man, "what do you know about them?"

"Not much, unfortunately." Hoshimaru sighed out, giving the kunoichi an apologetic look, "He's got a rough background – I think – and is pretty scary in person. Dark brooding kind-of-guy who has a weird fascination with sharp things – creeped me out the first time we met. There's always this weird aura or something around him, scares me most days."

The kunoichi tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed in thought, "And Gatō's been employing him? Do you know how long?"

He thought for a second before shrugging, "Not long, I'd guess since I hadn't exactly heard of this guy in Gatō's cavalry before. Hell, besides me, I don't think anyone has ever seen this guy!"

"That's strange…" Naruto mumbled out, "I feel like if this is someone who's considered one of Gatō's ' _best_   _bandits'_ , wouldn't he show them off?"

"Like a power play?" Sakura suggested, "Gatō kind of seems like a guy who'd want to flaunt his power."

Hoshimaru nodded, sighing slightly, "He is."

"Maybe this bandit was supposed to stay in the shadows, keep hidden but ended up getting injured?" The medic mused, more to his teammate than the man beside him.

"Probably." He shrugged anyway before an awed look filled his eyes, turning towards the blond-haired gennin, "Naruto, is it alright if I ask you something?"

The blond turned his head to look at him before nodding slowly, "Absolutely, what is it?"

"It's not that I'm doubting your abilities to help others, I'm just curious." Hoshimaru explained looking almost nervous, "I've already – kind of – said this, you know, earlier… but, um you're just really young. It's kind of hard to believe that you're a doctor."

Naruto shrugged, "Most people are – it's to be expected – but I just started learning at an early age and worked from there."

"Yeah, he was definitely something else when we were both in the academy." Sakura said with a soft smile on her face, pointing to her friend, "He used to heal papercuts that the kids would have and get rid of bruises or scraps we'd get after taijutsu training days. Everyone used to swarm him."

"They did not  _swarm_ me." The young medic huffed in annoyance but had the ghost of a smile, turning towards the rugged man, "What was your question though?"

"Oh." Hoshimaru blinked in surprise, "I was just wondering, well, why?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you become a doctor?" He elaborated.

Naruto thought for a moment, a hushed silence falling over them. "Well," He started, getting this faraway look in his eyes, "I didn't have a very good childhood and, as selfish as it might sound, I wanted to be acknowledged."

"Acknowledged?" Sakura questioned, having never really heard of her best friend's reasoning for becoming a medic, "Like for your talents?"

"No, no." He shook his head, "Just in general. I became who I am now because I wanted to be acknowledged as a person."

Hoshimaru gave him a strange look, "As a person? What does that mean?"

Naruto shrugged, turning towards him, "I'm a little curious about something."

"Shoot." He waved for the medic to continue.

"Since you were the first draft into fixing this guy, what were his injuries?" He questioned, keeping the conversation away from his less-than-perfect childhood.

Hoshimaru seemed to realize this, going ahead with the new topic. "I'm not entirely sure, there was a bit of blood here and there from cuts and a  _bunch_ of bruises. I don't know if he had any broken ribs or… anything else, sorry." The older man stated, looking down.

The blond-haired gennin shook his head, "No, that's fine. Most of that wouldn't incapacitate someone, only maim them so I'll have to do some in-depth searching for problems when I meet the guy."

"You can do that...?" The dark-skinned man blinked slowly, "Wait, don't you need to like, cut him up or something?"

A choked chuckle escaped the medic, lips curling into a grin, "No, no,  _no_ , never. All I'd need is just hover over his body and figuratively trace his anatomy for problems in the body like so…" His hand lit up green, a soft glow of color kissing the side of his face.

"Wow…" Hoshimaru awed, eyes wide with interest, "And that's with that ninjutsu stuff you ninja do?"

"Yep!" Sakura answered for him, "Medical ninjutsu is probably the coolest out of them."

Naruto smiled to himself at the indirect compliment, "I'd have to agree."

The rest of the walk was filled with a pleasant and warm silence. Even as they approached the degrading and overgrown building – most likely a hideout of sorts – the atmosphere was still nice. Getting through the security surrounding the building was easier than Naruto thought it would be. Hoshimaru was able to get through without an issue due to him already being seen inside the building more than a few times. However, because both Naruto and Sakura were foreigners, the bandits playing guards wouldn't let them pass.

"Ban, Morri, these two are friends of mine." Hoshimaru tried, motioning towards them, "They are helping me."

Both of them ignored him, turning towards the gennin. "State your business." Ban hissed out.

The medic stepped forward, holding his hand out, "I'm an aspiring doctor. I've been training for as long as I've been alive. I travel to small villages with my assistant to help people for free. Hoshimaru has enlisted my help."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" The guards shared a laugh, turning to the side and letting the three inside the building.

Naruto nodded his head, "Thank you."

Both he and Sakura followed the rugged man inside, Hoshimaru showing them around a little bit before arriving at a door. "Well, this is where the bandit guy is." He motioned towards it with a hand.

The blond-haired gennin turned towards Sakura, "Hey, why don't you just stay out here?"

"Uh…" She blinked once before giving the medic a quizzical look, "Why?"

"Most patients don't like to have ninjas in the room due to the – what do I call it? – a pensive stare?" Naruto shrugged, "It's almost like they're being interrogated which could stress them out more and delay the healing process."

"I guess that makes sense." The kunoichi rubbed the back of her head, still a bit confused before glancing at him, "If you need backup, just flair your chakra a bit – like in an offensive way, not a healing way – and I'll be there in an instant."

"Thanks." He smiled genuinely, turning towards Hoshimaru, "Shall we?"

"Absolutely." The dark-skinned man headed for the door, knocking twice before pausing and knocking an additional three times.

Silence.

"Come in."

Hoshimaru turned towards the gennin, voice lowered for a moment, "Just stay out here for a little while. I'll let you in once I tell him the change of plans."

"That's fine." Naruto nodded, motioning for the older man to move on. He bowed before disappearing into the room. Turning towards his teammate, the medic took a deep breath, "You okay?"

"Huh?"

"Your wrist." He pointed to it for emphasis, "I meant to ask this morning but, you know…" Blue eyes pointedly stayed on the ground, Naruto's face showing just a bit of the exhaustion he was feeling.

Sakura smiled despite this, placing a hand on his shoulder, "It feels fine, just stings when I move it certain ways. It'll probably be gone by tonight, I'm sure of it."

"I'm glad." He returned the facial gesture, peeking up at her.

"What about you?" At his confused stare, she continued, "Are you okay to be doing this?"

Naruto thought for quite some time, mouth in a firm, thin line. His eyes searched the concrete beneath his feet for an answer, one that could satisfy his curious teammate. A storm of blue lightning locked eyes with the forest's depths in a pleading gesture. "I'm fine." His voice was a bit louder than a whisper, but the exhaustion he's had for the last few days still lacing his words, betraying Naruto.

"Promise?" Sakura whispered out, eyebrows furrowed in a knowing stare.

The door behind them swung open, a rather nervous Hoshimaru appearing before them. He turned towards the blond-haired gennin, "You're all good to go."

"Thank you," Naruto stated politely.

"Little warning before you go, though." The older man stepped out of the doorway, voice lowered once more, "He seems to be a little irked tonight, so I would be careful of what you say around him."

"That's no problem at all." He bowed slightly, turning towards his best friend, "I'll see you in a bit Sakura."

"Alright…"

Naruto took two steps into the room, shutting the dark wooden door behind him as he went. Without even looking up, the gennin swung his pack off his back and set it on an empty table, "Good evening, sir, my name is Naruto and I will be your home care provider for the time being."

"Oh, you've got to be  _fucking_ kidding me!" A voice growled, low and menacing with a bit of venom lacing the man's words.

The blond lifted his head, eyes looking over to his patient. There lies a tanned man bandaged from head to toe with splotches of blood here and there. Cuts and bruises litter his face – a split lip, bruised eye socket, broken nasal cavity, and a split eyebrow – but the hard frown marring his features stood out the most, the anger boiling in his eyes. The older man's dark hair lay matted against his head, soaked with sweat that had collected recently. He looked flushed, the medic concluded, fever most likely.

"I am not… 'fucking kidding you', sir." Naruto spoke slowly, turning his body so he fully stood in front of the man across the room, "I am the only one in this town who is capable of handling your injuries."

"Like hell I'm going to entrust my health to some snot-nosed  _brat_  like you." His patient hissed out-loud, looking like he was going to move off the bed and physically beat the gennin to death, "You're like eight."

A pale hand pushed the older man's shoulder back slightly, "Master, I really think you should lie down." The medic eyed the boy, having not initially realized he was there due to how quiet he'd been. He looked to be a bit older than Naruto – not by much, though – with long dark hair and a feminine face. However, the physical structure of the teenager's body shows him to be male.

"He's right," Naruto stated after a moment of silence, getting a strange look from the other teen. He quickly rolled up his sleeves, picking out some latex gloves from one of his inside pockets, "You seem to have a low-grade fever, most likely caused from the stress of your injuries and possible infection. Please lie down, I will not ask nicely next time."

His patient growled lowly, glancing between the medic and the pale boy at his bedside. Whether it was the fever that had finally exhausted him a bit or he had just decided to be a good patient, the rugged man lied down against the colored sheets. "Don't think I won't keep my eye on you, brat." He hissed out, albeit a little weakly, jabbing a finger at him.

"That's fine with me, so long as you don't interfere with the healing process." Naruto turned towards his bags, fiddling with some zippers for medications he thought he might need to give the older man, "Why don't you give me a rundown of what happened? The injuries you sustained would be nice to know, well, from what you've observed."

"There was a fight." A quiet voice perked up, drawing the medic's attention to the pale boy from earlier, "It ended in a tie, but he was severely injured. If I hadn't dropped in to help, he probably would have died."

"Is this true, Mr…" He motioned for the older male to speak.

"I'm not telling you my name, boy." He growled out, eyes glaring daggered at the gennin.

"Alright, Mr. Patient it is." Naruto raised his hands up in surrender, turning towards the boy who spoke earlier, "And the injuries?"

"He's broken a lot of bones – few ribs, maybe, three fingers but those could just be fractured – and he lost a lot of blood." The dark-haired teenager gave his master a long look before looking up, "However, one of the other bandits here was gracious enough to supply him some blood when the incident happened."

The medic nodded, pulling out different tools that he deemed necessary, swiping them with an anapestic wipe, "Anything else?"

The other boy shrugged, looking over to his master, "Just some cuts and bruises. The only other problem is the fever. I've tried my best to deal with it naturally, but nothing seems to be working."

"I see. I'm glad that you tried your best." Naruto smiled slightly, pulling out some scissors and walking over to his patient with them, "I'm going to cut away some of the bandages over the areas that seem to be bleeding despite this attack happening some time ago."

"Whatever, brat."

He moved towards the older man's ankles, slicing against the bloodied cloth. The bandage wrapped around his entire foot, climbing its way up his calf but was centralized around his ankle. "So, who'd you fight against that got you in this position?" Naruto questioned, honestly curious. The injuries were extensive, littering almost his entire body.

"Do you always have to ask questions?" His patient narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Can't you just do your damn job in silence?"

A chuckle nearly slipped passed the medic's throat, but he held back, finishing the cut, "If I stayed silent, I would know nothing about your case. I have to ask questions to be the best care provider."

The black-haired man snarled, "It was a rhetorical question."

"My apologies. I'm quite exhausted today." He tried to manage a smile for his patient before turning back to the injury, examining it with an inquisitive stare. "This wound…" He started, looking up at his patient, "were you stabbed through his ankle?"

Before Mr. Patient could bark out an aggressive reply, the pale teenager stepped forward, "He was. The enemy snuck up on him while on the ground."

Naruto nodded slowly before motioning towards the stab wound, "Well, it missed everything important. Though, you may feel some numbness in your toes once everything is healed but I assure you that it will be fine in a couple weeks."

"Whatever." Mr. Patient huffed out.

The medic tried not to let his patients leave him as he dug through his front jacket pocket. He pulled out a bit of thick gauze, unraveling it a bit. The quiet boy beside him gave Naruto a questioning stare, "What is that for?"

"Give me a second." Naruto turned towards his patient, "This is going to feel a bit weird, might even sting a bit." Without another pause, he slipped the gauze slowly through the hole in the meaty part of the man's ankle. A low hiss was heard just after. "The gauze will prevent any unnecessary bleeding and will help it clot faster for better healing." He informed before looking at the long-haired boy, "Every other hour, you should change the gauze – I'll leave some here with you when I go – and only stop once it looks like the bleeding has stopped completely."

"Alright." He watched as Naruto packed the gauze into the wound for a few seconds before speaking up again, "So regular bandages will not work on those kinds of injuries?"

The medic shook his head, pulling out a roll of thick cloth, maneuvering it around his patient's foot and ankle quickly and precisely, "No, it won't. It might help keep the pressure on it and slow the bleeding a little, but it won't completely help in the long run."

"I see."

"Well, that's done with." Naruto then turned his attention to the large-scale wound on Mr. Patient's chest, "What caused that?"

"Don't answer, Haku." The older man stated lowly, eyes looking up at the medic.

The blond-haired gennin stopped for a moment, "Sir if you're going to act like that, I will leave this room immediately and refuse to help you any further. I won't ask again."

Silence filled the room.

"What caused that?" Naruto's words were slow, precise.

"A stopped ninjutsu attack." Mr. Patient rolled his eyes, "I was able to divert it just in time before it went through my chest."

He took a moment to collect his thoughts, nodding to himself, "Thank you." The blond-haired boy took the scissors and quickly snipped away the bandages. Neither Haku nor Mr. Patient said anything throughout the process. Naruto pulled away from the stripes, getting a good look at the bloodied mess. "Was this attack also where you broke a few things?" He questioned, moving towards his bag for some larger anesthetic wipes.

"It was."

He nodded, taking the thin pieces of cloth and wiping away the blood covering Mr. Patient's chest. The injuries on the older man's chest were different from anything else he'd seen on his body. The diverted ninjutsu attack left a wide-spread wound with parts that looked to be infected. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in concern. If this wound was infected, the toxins from that could have already reached Mr. Patient's bloodstream - maybe that's what caused his low-grade fever. He needed to get an in-depth look into this man's biology. The blond-haired gennin allowed the medical ninjutsu to crawl over his hand just a little bit over the man's collarbone, hoping he hadn't missed anything internal.

In a split second, the older man snatched his wrist, squeezing it in his fist. Naruto looked him in the eye, seeing rage and a dangerous emotion he couldn't recognize. Haku was moving behind him, the sound of something sharp being pulled out from somewhere. "You think you can come in here and falsely try to help me, huh?" Mr. Patient growled lowly, twisting the medic's hand a bit, "Think you can assassinate me,  _boy_?!"

He hissed slightly, "What are you-"

The door swung open.

"Naruto, I felt-" Sakura's body stopped moving, her voice stuttering near the end. Dread and horror filled her widened eyes, a sickening feeling in her stomach.

The medic could feel Mr. Patient stiffen from where he had grabbed Naruto's wrist.  _"What's going on?"_  He thought to himself, unsure about the situation.

They watched as Sakura's face suddenly twisted in anger, a betrayed look in her eyes. " _You_!" She screeched, pulling out three shurikens just as quickly as someone can blink, "You attacked us!"

"What?" His voice was quiet, eyes widening in realization. Naruto couldn't think, couldn't hear the commotion beyond his subconscious. Sakura looked on furiously, screaming out accusations as Haku and his master prepared for another battle. The medic couldn't even bring himself to do anything.

He glanced down at the man who still had his wrist in a tight grip. Naruto couldn't have known, he tried, trying to find a way to counter his ignorance. He had never seen this man before in his life. There was no way he could have known that this was  _Zabuza_ , right?

There was no way he would have had the knowledge that this was the same man who attacked his friends, sending one of them into a temporary coma. He couldn't have known that it was Zabuza – Mr. Patient, his mind still called him – the same Zabuza he was trying to fix right now just so the man could get back up and try to slaughter them. All the exhaustion the medic faced, all the heartache that tainted his team's hearts… the cause of it was right in front of him.

Because of  _Zabuza_.

Anger filled him, something he hadn't felt in a  _long_ time. It was the anger that Naruto used to get when the villagers stared at him, whispering underneath their breath. The one that flared at every insult thrown at him, the pain he felt from his loneliness.

The anger of unfairness.

"That's  _enough_!" Naruto barked out suddenly, finding himself yelling over the commotion in the room. Eyes peered at him with sudden hostility, the grip over his wrist tightening painfully. He sneered in open resentment, hand flaring an electric blue, slicing open Zabuza's hand to the bone.

"What the fuck?!" The man cried out, jerking his hand away from the gennin as fast as he could. He glanced at his hand, watching as it pumped out the crimson liquid his body desired to keep.

Without a second's notice, the medic moved the chakra scalpel's glow towards the older man's throat, highlighting his face in a hue of blue. "No one move," Naruto growled out lowly, looking down at his patient with as much distaste as he could manage.

"Back away." Haku's voice was low, cautious.

"Haku, I don't think you understand the circumstances right now." He hissed out, taking a moment to give the teenager a look, "My hand is directly placed over a major artery in your  _master's_  throat."

"What?" Zabuza took a shaky breath, eyeing the blue glow coming off of the medic's hand.

He turned his attention to the older man once more, "If you so much as breathe the wrong way, you will bleed out within minutes. So, please, be a good  _patient._ " The 'or else' was left unsaid but everyone in the room could hear the threat as clear as day. Naruto eyed the ninjas in the room, "You have no control over the situation. Lay down your weapons or I'll kill him."

He watched the teenager contemplate for a moment, eyes bouncing between the medic and his master. After a few seconds, Haku's weapons were dropped and kicked across the room, "Have it your way."

"Good." He then turned his head towards his teammate, "Sakura, you too."

"What?! But, Naruto-"

" _Now_."

She gave him a wild look, eyes bouncing between the unarmed teenager across the room in the corner and then landing on the injured man locked in death's hold. Her hand shook around the shurikens, eyes debating on whether to kill them right here, right  _now_. However, as Sakura was just about to engage in a fight, her eyes met Naruto's.

 _Pleading_.

His eyes were begging for her to drop her weapons, to stop the fight before it even began. She stared for a few more seconds before putting away the shurikens, "I trust you know what you're doing." Did she really?

"I do." Naruto stated dangerously, "Now, we're going to have to set some rules."

" _Rules_?" Zabuza scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Mind what you say around me, I'm currently holding your life in the palm of my hand." The blond-haired man motioned towards the chakra scalpel, flaring it just a bit, "Don't speak to me unless spoken to."

Haku shifted slightly, obviously uncomfortable with the lack of power they had over the situation, "What are the rules?"

Naruto turned towards the ninja, "You're going to answer all my questions. If you don't, I'll kill Zabuza within seconds – you'll go down in minutes."

"Is that it?" The older man glared holes at the medic.

"Did I speak to you?!" His chakra flared, making a paper cut against his neck. Zabuza hissed, anger in his eyes before finally deciding to quiet down. The teenager's eyes widened, begging his master to stay quiet.

Naruto took a moment to collect himself, "If you lie to me, I'll kill you both. If you try to harm me, I'll do everything in my power to completely mutilate you in the most painful ways possible. Refuse to cooperate and… do I even have to say it anymore?"

Silence.

"I guess not." He sighed, trying to keep his emotions in check, "Sakura, if you would like to stay, that would be fine. If not, please stand guard outside. Something tells me I might need a watchdog."

"I'll stay." She quietly stated.

Naruto nodded slowly, looking back down at his patient, "Do me a favor and stay still." At the man's silence, he went ahead and continued with his job. The blue hue of his chakra scalpel disappeared after a few seconds, turning back into the warm green it was before Zabuza interfered. He brought it close to the older man's neck, healing the papercut without a moment's notice.

"You really were just trying to help," Haku mumbled out quietly after the medic moved back a little bit, the healing palm leaving Zabuza's skin.

Naruto bobbed his head slightly, the teenager almost not catching it. "Had I not known about your involvement in their injuries," Eyes turned towards Sakura, "I would have healed all your wounds like this." Zabuza's eyes widened, a bitter look on his face. "Instead, you blatantly attack the only person who could have sped up your recovery tenfold." He sat back on a stool, looking over the bandages covering his patient's body, "I refuse to use any more of my chakra on you, but I cannot allow you to die so I will continue to be your doctor."

"Naruto… are you  _serious_?!" Sakura hissed out, betrayal in her voice, "He's the one who hurt Kakashi-sensei and you're just going to-" She stopped herself before she could say anything hurtful.

"We'll talk about this later." The blunt answer took the kunoichi by surprise, the words voiced with an undertone of exhaustion.

"But-"

He twisted his head around, glaring holes into her skull, "If you continue to distract me, I will force you to leave this room whether you like it or not. Do I make myself  _clear_?"

Sakura's jaw tensed, "Yes."

Naruto took a deep breath, reaching for the pair of scissors he had earlier, "If you attack me again, I'll stab these through your jugular."

"I won't," Zabuza stated quietly.

He gave the man a look but decided not to say anything beyond that. The medic went ahead and clipped away all the remaining bandages covering his body, getting them out of the way of the man's injuries. The room was tense, atmosphere filled with apprehension and dread. All Naruto wanted was to help someone in need and then take a nap.

Kami, what the  _fuck_ did he just get himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone, sorry for the shitty short chapter. I just can't really produce much of anything anymore. I am beyond stressed, depressed, and in need of a nap. You don't have to read my sob story if you don't want to but here:
> 
> Hurricane Florence displaced up from our home, sending us up North. We also had a bit of property damage and an infestation problem due to pests trying to escape the storm so that had to be fixed as soon as possible. Because of the hurricane, all schools were forced to reopen their doors late into November – I haven't been in school for nearly two months.
> 
> Not too long after that, we were forced to put up one of our dogs up for adoption because she killed some chickens in a neighbor's yard and my parents didn't want to get in trouble with the law. And then, not even a day after we had to get rid of her, my old dog died – I've had her since I was extremely little – so it was really hard to see her go.
> 
> I have so much planned for this story but I just don't know when I'll have the time to do anything for it. So much shit is going on and I feel like I'm failing against the pressure. I'm not abandoning any of my stories, I just think that I need some more time… even if that amount of time is months or even a year. Not abandoned… promise.


	32. Choose Your Battles Wisely

" _Kami, what the_ fuck _did he get himself into?"_

There was a time, many years ago when Naruto remembered his life without the plaguing, daunting feeling of being stretched beyond your mind's capabilities. It was the lack of mental prowess that allowed for his naivete to follow him even after his toddler days. This dreaded and painful naivete for the world around him is what gave the medic a feeling of content or, more importantly, a life without stress.

He misses it  _so_ much.

He misses being able to run down the streets, ignoring every single person around him – it was just the wind in his air and his excited breathing,  _him_. It was always  _him_. Alone, isolated from the world but he was contented for so long.

Naruto  _missed_  it.

He remembers waking up alone – his parents had died long before he ever had the chance to have siblings – and hoping for a day where people didn't look at him wrong or say hurtful things to him. The quietness of his dirty apartment building with the creaky wooden floors and water that never ran hot brought him a sense of comfort. His isolated ways gave way to the birth of content.

Naruto misses being content.

People don't look at him the same way anymore, don't usher him out of buildings or throw rocks at him. They don't hurt him anymore, say something derogatory to him as he passes them by. People are kind now, acknowledging him for his abilities. They pay the medic to help them, to make sure no one dies in vain. With that money, Naruto was finally able to fix his wooden floors and pay his landlord enough to have hot water for the first time in forever. His old bed was replaced with something nicer, the old comforters burned to ashes. He bought candles to fill the atmosphere with something pleasant, other than the old mold that used to grow on his ceiling. His money allowed for fresh fruits and vegetables to enter his home without having to fight the seller for something edible. A desk was assembled in the corner and Naruto could finally buy new school supplies.

He'd been happy then but what he lost what he had.

Naruto used to be content, now, he can't even be happy for what he has.

He worked his ass off every day since day eight but had never been satisfied with what he had, what he'd learned so far. It was always 'you can do better next time', never 'you did a fantastic job just now'. The blond-haired gennin was always too hard on himself, never appreciating the things he had.

He stressed over the small things and found himself getting depressed over the bigger things. As he got older, Naruto finally realized that not all people could be saved, that some had to be left behind and that hurt him beyond all belief. He broke the rules of a medic countless times, was never punished for doing things wrong and was allowed to pass for being naïve. He's a hypocrite, never allowing himself to promise something for another but promises himself things he knows he can't keep. He hurts others when he'd been sworn to save lives.

He's a worthless medic, why do people keep relying on him?

Even now, as he cuts away the bandages surrounding Zabuza's beaten and broken body, he's holding onto his shambled mind while thinking of how he could have done better.  _Do this… do that… never do that again… stop that… you could never… why do you even try… there's something wrong with you… stop it… don't do that… do it… try again… worthless… stop doing that… why do you even try… something wrong… you're worthless… do this… don't do that… why… worthless…_

" _Kami, what the_ fuck  _did he just get himself into?"_

Naruto is a terrible medic, he knows it in his heart but his head refuses to admit it. After nearly five years of his life spent on this one thing, he refuses himself to  _believe_ that he's a terrible medic. He's tried so hard for so long, could he just quit now? Forget everything that's led up to this point? Could he allow himself to just… let go? Only terrible medics would do that…

He looks to Zabuza, face blank and eyes dead. Why does he continue to heal this monster? He knows, logically, it's to complete this side-mission as to not harm another for someone else's wrongdoing but… But Naruto wishes to end this man right now. He wishes to use his chakra – one that he's sworn to use in hopes of healing another – and stop Zabuza's heart right then, slaughter Haku while he still has the chance.

He wants to hear Zabuza  _beg_ for his life.

He wants to hear the man recount his sins, recount them for harming the only family Naruto has.

For hurting them.

The medic looks away before his murderous rage consumes him again. He knows everyone is giving him weird looks, hoping for him to say something – a question of some sorts, no doubt – but Naruto has  _nothing_. He's blank, brain dead on every account except for the physical aspect. His subconscious works for him, pulling away from the strands of bloodied cloth covering the man's body but he's still not there.

" _I should see a therapist when we get back to Konoha."_ Naruto mused to himself, blanking going on cleaning and rewrapping the wounds,  _"Something's wrong with me."_

No one would understand what he's going through though, he doesn't even understand it himself.

He lets his mind wander to the medics at home, the three who could help him with his medical wrongdoings. However, they probably aren't much better than a therapist poking and prodding him with invasive questions.

Terra would probably want to shush away his problems, help him bottle them up for some other time when she wasn't hugging him, pitying him. Chakochi is old enough to know the pain but she's always been one to keep her struggles secret. She wouldn't know healthy coping mechanisms even if she read them from a book. Yiruma is supportive but Naruto might lose his job at the hospital if he's having too many problems. Hiruzen would be the same way, giving him way too much time off from missions and his job.

The isolation would make him content but the sadness might kill him.

His team was obviously a no-go if Naruto ever decided to speak with someone about…  _whatever_  he was feeling or rather, what he's  _not_  feeling anymore. Sakura is a worry-wart and she's always been concerned about him, about what he sees as a medic. He always tried to reassure her but the kunoichi never takes it to heart. Sasuke used to not care about what goes on in the life of a medic until he injured himself late one night and Naruto let slip about the piles of bodies he used to see, for the blood that's been spilled and the lives he'd taken. And Kakashi…

Kakashi is like a father-figure of sorts to Naruto and he doesn't ever want to disappoint the man. He doesn't want to worry him; after everything Kakashi went through against Zabuza, he shouldn't have to hear his gennin spill his guts about his feelings. He's not strong enough to keep everything to himself and his teacher might not appreciate it.

Naruto sure knows that he doesn't  _appreciate_ him feeling this way either.

Medics are supposed to be flexible, able to hold everything in to do their job. He can't even do that right. He's worked so hard and for  _what_? For people he cares about to get hurt, to be broken and slaughtered like animals while he stands on the sidelines wondering if he'd done everything right?

_He's worthless._

The room is silent as the medic works on cleaning Zabuza's wounds, all eyes anxiously watching him. His eyes are distant, face slack without emotion. Sakura fears for her life, quivering in the corner with her fingers itching for a weapon but stops from doing so due to Naruto's earlier behavior. Haku stands similarly adjacent from her, shifting from foot to foot in a swaying motion, obviously tense with a foreboding feeling. Zabuza lays on the bed, holding his breath every now and then, too afraid that the boy in front of him might just take his life then and there.

But Naruto doesn't. He is stoic and silent, doing his job like a  _good_ medic that he's  _supposed_ to be. He has questions, sure, but Naruto's not even sure if his mouth will work to get the words out. His mind is stuffy, head a visage of something dark and broken. He can breathe but not really, he's drowning in something that he can't find.

He's content but stressed, upset…  _dead_.

"Why were you employed by Gatō?" Naruto suddenly asked, mouth finally carrying some weight to it. The room startles to life, tension and apprehension leaking away somewhat at his words. He tugs a strand of cloth around the man's arm, tightening it a bit over the deep cut. The dark-haired man hissed quietly. "What is your job?" He asks.

Zabuza gives the teenager a look, eyes daring the boy to do something, "My job was to kill the bridge builder so that he couldn't finish the bridge." His dark eyes look to the medic's hands, hoping that the answer sufficed him enough not to take off his head.

Naruto didn't say anything for a moment, looking at his patient with dead eyes, "Why does it matter if Tazuna-san completes the bridge or not?"

"Gatō wants to have complete control over this town so that the people will forever be under his control." The injured man started, locking eyes with the medic, "If the bridge is completed, trade and money would be able to enter the Land of the Waves again."

"I see…" The blond-haired gennin stated, looking over his completed work with a critical eye, almost searching for any missed sections, "The wound on your chest is infected, you'll need some antibodies if you hope to survive at all. That'll help combat the sickness, but you'll need to stay well hydrated and get plenty of rest or your body will refuse to heal itself."

Haku takes a step forward, the kunoichi across the room stiffening a little bit. "How did it get infected?" He questions cautiously, eyeing Sakura a bit, fearful that he'd made the wrong move. This was, after all, uncharted territory without the advantage of having control over the situation.

Naruto thought about reminding him of the rules but could honestly feel the exhaustion filling him – he just didn't have the heart to care anymore. "The wound wasn't addressed as well as some of the other minor contusions." He waved a hand over the area for emphasis, "Zabuza had most likely been overexerting himself, not allowing for the area to heal on its own. And without medical ninjutsu, it will take longer for him to heal." Said man shrinks in his seat, obviously ashamed for ruining his one and only chance at being healed completely without relying on time.

"Where can we get these antibodies that you mentioned?" Haku tried again, hoping to keep the medic distracted from something more murderous.

"Local pharmacy but you can just have the bottle I carry with me." The medic motioned over to his teammate, "Sakura, do you mind looking in my bag for it?"

She nodded slowly, moving over towards it, "Which pocket is it in?"

Without looking at her, he motioned over to it, "It's in the front right pocket – the one at the top. It should be a yellow bottle with a white cap. It'll have oval gel pills in it."

Sakura followed his directions easily, pulling the bottle out and shaking it twice, looking inside it for a moment. She looked over to her teammate, eyeing the injured man just below Naruto. The kunoichi found that she didn't want to be close to Zabuza at all, a fear plaguing her heart and a sickness in her stomach. "Catch." She called out before throwing the bottle over to Haku.

The teenager caught it easily, blinking twice in surprise before turning his attention to the directions on the bottle. He read it carefully, taking what the pill bottle said to heart – this was, after all, one of the only ways to help his master once Naruto left. It was a twice a day pill that needed to be taken once every twelve hours with food. Side-effects were drowsiness and fatigue. "Thanks," Haku whispered out.

"Don't." Naruto stated, giving the teenager a strange look, "You are one of the last people I want to hear anything grateful from."

The dark-haired boy thought to himself for a moment before looking down, an almost ashamed stare in his eyes, "I see."

The medic nodded, sitting back on the stool, "Does Gatō know that a team of ninja attacked you?"

"Yes."

"Everyone on our team?" Naruto eyed the injured man.

"No."

"Then who?"

Zabuza looked up, "Only Kakashi Hatake, the Copy-Cat ninja."

He thought for only a moment, "Not even Sakura or, as you should obviously know, me and our other teammate?"

"Gatō knows that Kakashi was traveling with a gennin so obviously, there should be two more." He explained a bit, "However, he does not know of or about either you or your other teammate."

"Are you going to tell them about me once I leave?" Naruto questions seriously, the possibility of being known by his enemies being all too great.

The room was silent as Zabuza contemplated his answer. If he said yes, Naruto knew he'd probably have to expect an attack soon since the guards that allowed Sakura and him to enter the building might have already told Gatō of the newcomers. It would either be an attack or a job opening since it seems that Gatō does not have any trained doctors on hand. He could be approached at any second.

"No."

"No?" Naruto quirked up an eyebrow, obviously curious by the answer but not that surprised.

Zabuza shrugged, like it was no big deal, "I won't tell them you're on a team or that you're actually a combat-orientated medic, just that a doctor came and helped me out."

He tilted his head, an odd feeling in his chest, "And why's that?"

"Simply put," He started, the dark-haired man's face splitting in a grin, "you intrigue me."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, "That's it?"

"I respect you." Zabuza made eye-contact with the medic, holding his ground despite being bound up by bandages.

Sakura stomped her foot, anxiety creeping into her, "Naruto, you can't believe this guy! He's just going to tell Gato and his goons about you – they're going to come for us!"

The blond-haired medic took a deep breath, still staring into the depths of darkness that were his patient's eyes. He searched for a moment, "Do you swear that you won't let?"

"On my swordsman's honor." Zabuza nodded slowly.

"You can't trust him!" Sakura's eyes were wide with panic, taking a step forward towards her medic, "He nearly killed Kakashi-sensei a-and… and he-"

"Sakura, that's enough." There was no bite to his voice this time, just a bitter monotone speech coming from Naruto. No exhaustion, no begging eyes, just… just a voice telling her to stop it.

Sakura turned away from him.

Naruto looked between his patient and Haku, continuing to keep his back to his teammate, "Do either of you plan on attacking us once we leave?"

"I kind of can't now," Zabuza grumbled out.

"I meant after you're healed." He glared at the injured man.

"We still have a job to do." Haku answered calmly, hands clasped together, "If you stand in the way of our mission, you will have to be eliminated… even  _if_ you helped us."

Naruto nodded in understanding, looking down at the older man, "Zabuza?"

"Same thing."

He nodded more to himself than the others, "I see…"

"They should be eliminated now before they can cause any more damage," Sakura growled out, fire blazing in her eyes. Her hands itched by her weapons' pocket. Haku and Zabuza tensed at her words, glancing between one another before looking to the medic in an instant. Any wrong move now could start a fight; they prepared as much as they could.

"You are dismissed." The medic stated.

The kunoichi's eyes widened, "What?"

"Please leave the room immediately or so help me I will kick you out myself," Naruto said, standing to his full height.

There was something odd – older, her mind corrected – when she looked up at him. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I… I can't just leave you alone with  _these_ \- they're  _criminals_ , Naruto!" Sakura motioned towards them with her hand, frantically trying to make her teammate see reason.

"Sakura!" The medic suddenly shouted out, "I am  _beyond_ frustrated with you, leave now – stand by the door,  _I don't care_  – just make sure you don't let the door hit you on the way out." He turned slowly towards her, eyes fueled by an anger so uncanny of him. "We will  _talk_ about this  _later_." Naruto growled out, a menacing sound that rumbled in his throat, "Do I make myself  _clear_?"

She could feel frustrated tears rise in her eyes. Instead of continuing with this futile attempt at trying to get her best friend to see reason, she swiftly turned around, "Fine." With a slam of the door, Sakura was gone.

"I hate being like that but I guess it works sometimes." He admits out loud before turning towards the two once more, a strange stare in his eyes, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's… That's alright?" Haku tried, furrowing his eyebrows in thought, "May I… Would it be alright if I ask a question?"

Naruto turned towards his bag, starting to pack things up so that he won't have to do it later, "Go ahead."

"Why do you, even after you found out that your teacher was harmed because of my master, why do you continue to help him… to help us?" He asks the medic, voice quiet and unsure.

He paused while zipping his backpack, "The truth?"

"Yes."

"There is a man whose family is at stake due to your shortcomings. He was assigned to help heal you before me." Naruto started, going back to the task at hand, "He went to my client hoping for help only to find me. He wished for someone else to heal you, to help 'Gatō's best bandit' back onto his feet." The gennin twisted his head toward the two. "I'm doing this for him, for his family," The medic whispered out harshly, "If it were under any other circumstances, I would have killed you within an instant."

Zabuza snarled a bit, "Then why go on and say all that stuff about you killing us for attacking you?"

"Because, as a medic, you should always have a backup plan." He flashed a dangerous smile, "If you attacked me again, I would have killed you without a doubt. However, you forget that there is more than one way to make a death look on accident."

"What about that man's family?" Haku questioned, glancing between his master and the medic who held their lives in his hand.

"I would kill Gatō." Naruto stated, determination in his eyes, "No more innocent lives shall be taken due to that man, not while I'm here."

"I see." Zabuza nodded, more to himself than what the medic had said, "What now?"

" _Now_ ," The gennin made his way over to the injured man, "I've got a few things to say before I go." He looked Zabuza in the eye as he placed a single hand on the man's sternum.

"What-" His eyes flew wide open as pressure was placed directly onto that spot, the boy's chakra sending spikes through his nervous system. Zabuza clawed at his throat, gasping for breath.

"Z-Zabuza!" Haku cried out, frightened by what was happening. His hands quivered, anxious to do something quickly, "What are you doing?!"

"Relax, I'm not going to kill him, but I need you," Naruto leaned down, whispering his next words out harshly, "to listen  _very_ closely." Zabuza tried to nod but he was still trying to fight for oxygen. However, the chakra over his sternum refused to grant him this. "You attack my team or my client again and I won't be as friendly as I was before."

The injured man's lips were turning blue, eyes bugging out from his head. His vision swam a little bit, unable to breathe. He searched for Haku, begging the boy to do something but really, he'd be dead before the teenager could do anything. The precision over his lungs and nervous system successfully refused him any access to his desperately needed oxygen – Naruto made sure of that. Zabuza made a gasping noise, scratching at his throat frantically.

"Step away from the job or else." The medic growled out lowly.

"W-Wait," Haku blurts out, looking panicked, "We can't drop the job!"

Naruto increased the distribution of chakra, Zabuza looking like he might pass out, "And why not?"

"We need the money." He whispers out, voice harsh and desperate, "Please."

The medic takes only a moments' decision before retracting his hand from his patient's chest. Zabuza takes a deep breath, coughing it out while rubbing his neck. "How much is Gatō paying you for this one job?" Naruto questions, turning towards the other teenager.

"240,000 ryō," Haku replies instantly.

"Drop the job and I'll give you 500,000 ryō." He stated.

"W-What… But…" His eyes widened a degree before his shock was replaced by apprehension, eyeing his sputtering master, "How can we trust you to hold up your side of the deal?"

"You can't." Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair before turning towards his medical equipment, continuing to pack it up, "Medics shouldn't promise things they might not be able to keep. I try to do everything to the best of my abilities." His eyes go distant for a moment, remembering that he is a hypocrite who still finds it in himself to promise things.

"Then how do we-" Zabuza's words were interrupted by a fit of coughs, tears pricking his eyes from the force of it, "How do we know you're telling the truth and that you'll pay up?"

"I'm a medic…  _and_  a shinobi. As a medic, my duty is to save people's lives and as a shinobi, my duty is to finish my mission." He gave them an exhausted smile, zipping up the final pocket, "My mission is to protect the bridge builder and save the lives of my team. If I can do both by paying you two to leave us alone, then I will do my very best to pay up."

"Do you even have that much money on you?" His patient narrowed his eyes at the boy, "That's a lot of money to hold for a single mission."

"I always carry a little bit more on me since medical supplies cost a lot more than bread." He explained, "On missions like these where my entire team was out of commission for some time, my supplies were running a bit low. By having this money on me, I can purchase whatever I need now."

Haku crossed his arms in thought, "And you're just going to willingly give it up for the sake of us stopping our mission?"

"Of course."

Zabuza scoffed, "I don't believe you."

"Have I lied to you at all today?" He questioned, daring them to give him the wrong answer.

Silence.

"That's what I thought." Naruto slung his bag around his shoulder, securing it on his back, "Well, that's it from me."

"You're leaving?" Haku blinked in surprise.

"I told you, I'm not healing Zabuza with medical ninjutsu – you lost that right the minute I learned who you were." He pointed to the man on the bed, "I did what I can. Only time will tell if you heal."

The dark-haired teenager looked at the medic, "What should we do for the following days… regarding my master's health?"

"The only thing I can suggest is to have him drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest. He'll be up and running in about a week if he stops exerting himself too much." Naruto nodded to them, heading for the door, "And about the money, take that time to make your decision."

They looked up at him.

"Meet me on the east side of the docks after midnight once you're healed. I'll be underneath the bridge. I'll have your pay but, if you decide not to take it, I'll have your head instead." He tried a smile, something that might ease their hearts, "You don't have to decide right away but just know that I still hold your life in my hands and I'm not afraid to crush you."

"We won't make that easy." Zabuza scoffed.

"Good," He grinned, "I like a good challenge." Naruto opened the door and walked out without another word. Sakura was waiting for him, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her face. He shut the door behind him before making his way out of the building, his teammate following behind him closely but not saying a word. The medic didn't mind – he was still trying to wrap his head around everything that was happening and needed a good few moments of silence to collect his thoughts.

It wasn't until they'd spoken with the guards – Ban and Morri, if he remembered correctly – about Zabuza's healing progress and watched as the building housing the criminals were in the horizon did Sakura finally speak.

"We need to talk." She stated out harshly, stopping.

"I said that we'd talk later." Naruto countered easily but continued to walk ahead.

" _No_!" The pink-haired teenager reached out, grabbing her teammates wrist and spinning him around swiftly, "We need to talk  _now_."

He stood unfazed, crossing his arms as if what happened didn't bother him, "Fine.  _Talk_."

Anger bled into her eyes in an instant, "I am so disappointed in you, Naruto. How  _could_ you?! That's the man who attacked us – put Kakashi-sensei into a fucking  _coma_  and hurt me – and you just go ahead and  _heal him-_ "

"I didn't use medical ninjutsu on him, Sakura." Naruto sighed out, "You're being irrational."

"YOU STILL  _HELPED_  HIM!" She screeched, tears pricking her eyes, pointing in the direction they'd just left, "You betrayed our team by  _helping_   _them_." The girl barred her teeth in frustration, obviously not wanting to cry. "Why did you  _do_  it?" Sakura growled out, staring him in the eye, "Why do it if you  _know_  that they are just going to come after us?"

"It was my job." He said without missing a beat. There was a glare in his eyes, something that festered up from her speaking to him like that. It was the gnawing at his chest and the shambled pieces of his mind being grounded into a powder.

In an instant, she pushed him. Naruto stumbled a bit but did not fall. This only seemed to anger Sakura further seeing as how she kept coming at him. " _No_!" She screeched, hitting him again, "It wasn't your job! You're  _our_ medic a-and… you're not a bad guy so why heal the enemy? Why help them  _at all_? Why did you stop me from just ending those guys right then and there?" Tears streamed down her face, guilt, and pain hidden behind the cloud of fury in her eyes. " _Why_?!"

Naruto grabbed her wrists quickly so that she couldn't hit him anymore. "Sakura." His voice was soft, the one that used to sound so comforting to her, " _Sakura_ , I need you to listen to me."

She tried to desperately pull her hands away from him, glaring holes into the boy, "Let me go!" The pink-haired kunoichi continued to try to get out of his grip.

"I didn't want to help them." He answered slowly, loosening up his grasp a bit, "My job was to help Hoshimaru by healing them. Did you forget that that was the whole point of going over there to begin with?"

"I…" Sakura sniffled, looking down in shame but the anger still would not leave her, "I… I just- that was  _Zabuza_  a-and..." Her nostrils flared out, eyebrows furrowed in an aggressive stare. "You…" She swiped her arms away, pulling them close to her body, "You still  _helped_  him. I… If  _I_ was the one who had to do that, and you were attacked by  _that man_ , I… I would  _definitely_ have killed that guy."

"But you're not  _me_." Naruto tried, standing shocked, "…Sakura, if he died then Hoshimaru and his family would have-"

"Yes, I  _know_ , they would have been  _killed_." Sakura huffed, eyes rimmed with tears, "…but you  _had_ him, Naruto." Her voice was a whisper now, voice filled with a venom. " _He_ … All of our problems would be solved if you would have  _killed_ him." She furrowed her eyebrows aggressively, "Now he's going to heal and kill us all."

"That's not true." He tried desperately. Fear and shock coursed through him; he's not sure what to do now.

"It  _is_ true!" She stomped her foot, pointing a finger at him accusingly, "If you had just  _killed_ Zabuza, we wouldn't have to worry about some lunatic killer with a sword coming at us looking for revenge. We are all going to die and it's all your  _fault_!"

"Sakura-"

" _No,_ I don't want to hear it!" The kunoichi screeched, walking past him quickly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks – how long had she been keeping this to herself, he mused to himself.

"Sakura,  _please_ -"

"Leave me  _alone_ , Naruto." She covered her mouth with her hand, "I don't want to see you right now or  _ever_." The pink-haired teenager sped off towards Tazuna's home, sobbing her eyes out.

He watched her go with wide eyes. He searched in a subconscious panic. Was he  _wrong_? Should he have just ended Zabuza, killed him without a moment's notice? Should he have made  _that man_ beg for his life as he'd hoped for?

_Worthless…_

Naruto grit his teeth, fleeing towards the woods, going the opposite way from Tazuna's house. He needed to get away – too much, it was all too much,  _why…_ why is he like this – he had to get away from everything.  _Sakura hates you… why do this… you should be doing that… stupid… worthless… you're fault… why do you always do that… you should have killed him… stop that immediately… you could never kill him… why do you even try… there's something wrong with you… stop it… don't do that… kill him… try again… worthless… stop doing that… why do you even try… all your fault… something wrong… you're worthless… do this… don't do that… why… worthless…_

Worth nothing.

Worth nothing at all.

You're just worthless.

 _Worthless_.

"I'm worthless," Naruto whispered out, leaning against a tree. He slid against it until he was sitting on the moist ground.

How did it get to this point, this deep sadness cutting into his brain like a parasite? Why does it affect him so much? Why does he keep screwing up? It was his fault, the reason as to why Zabuza gets to continue breathing despite everything he'd done to his team.

The first time he saw Sakura – battle-ridden and hurting from what  _that man_ did to her – he was so beyond angry. There was a fury, an anger that came from something he adored being tarnished and hurt. The way her wrist twisted in an odd angle – she was hurting so badly! – and the blood that clung to her face made him sick to his stomach. Naruto felt the urge to use all his chakra on her, to heal her so that the pain would no longer plague her.

She stopped him – well, actually his clone – by a simple shake of her head, tears in her eyes,  _"Don't worry about us. It's… oh Kami, it's Kakashi-sensei."_

Kakashi…

Naruto could feel the guilt coiling in his stomach again, ducking his head into his knees where he held himself as tightly as he could. "I'm sorry…" He found himself whispering out loud.

The man had been unconscious then – he's in a coma, Naruto reminded himself bitterly – and was pained even while not physically being aware of his injuries. The green glow of medical ninjutsu no longer felt soothing or comforting to Naruto anymore, the idea of anything like that putting a queasy feeling in his stomach. His chakra searched through Kakashi's body, finding everything wrong with it.

Kakashi was drowned, slashed down the chest by Zabuza, bruised and beaten beyond belief, and cut up from the inside. He could have died had Naruto not done everything he could for him.

But was that even enough? His teacher is in a coma for who-knows-how-long. Naruto estimated that he might wake up tonight or tomorrow morning but what does that even matter? He's probably wrong anyway…  _worthless_ …

Naruto could feel his eyes watering.

This entire mission has just been one painful rollercoaster after another. First, there was Sasuke's poisoning. Then came his clone's second summoning, them working on Sakura, Tazuna, and Kakashi, making sure none of them succumbed to their injuries. The clone poofing out of existence, forcing Naruto to relive the stress a second time. Working on the three of them once more to make sure his clone hadn't missed anything extremely important. The lack of sleep, his exhaustion plaguing him throughout the days. Zabuza… and now Sakura.

There was a time, before this mission, when Naruto enjoyed making trips between his home and the hospital or the training grounds, working with patients or with his team. It brought him joy, destroyed the afflicting, intimidating feeling of crumbling underneath the pressure. He allowed himself to enjoy the wonders of a boyfriend, exploring his sexuality and learning to love someone of the same gender without being judged or prosecuted for it. He was allowed to continue to further his medical prowess by access to locked parts of libraries, hospitals, and even Hiruzen's own personal library. It's what gave the medic a feeling of peace.

He misses it  _so_ much.

He misses being able to run down the streets with stores in mind, waving to patients who had finally healed or seeing friends on the side and stopping to chat for a minute or two. It was no longer just the wind in his hair or his excited breathing, no longer just him. It was everyone helping him reach his goal, cheering him on. It's no longer him. He's not alone anymore, will never be isolated from the world; he's at peace with everything. Naruto missed the feeling.

Waking up was a pleasure then, even if he wakes up alone. Naruto finds that he no longer has a problem with being an orphan – Kakashi made up for it, as well as Sakura and Sasuke – and often got ready for the day with a smile on his face, excited for what will happy today. The quietness of his nearly-perfect apartment is filled with the warmth of joy and a brightness that he could never compare it to something. His isolated ways gave way to the birth and growth of peace.

Naruto misses being peaceful.

He misses being someone who didn't purposefully kill someone in cold blood. It was better – correction, it was easier to deal with – when patients at the hospital passed away on their own terms or didn't survive their injuries or diseases. He'd never  _really_ killed someone – he may have pulled the plug on a few patients, keeping it together in front of his patients' families who sobbed around their bedside.

" _Those bandits you've got littering the forest were my friends. I was traveling with them and you've cut down_ every single  _one."_ He'd been silent, frozen when he watched that ninja in the forest take his last breath, shuddering it out with a shake before collapsing onto the forest floor just like every other bandit he'd killed. Naruto remembers the blood of those men on his hands, on his clothes.

" _Are you okay?"_

" _Of course."_

" _Are you sure?"_

" _Of course."_

He's a worthless medic, why do people keep relying on him?

Even now, as he sobs his eyes out, finally able to cut away the stitches over his shambled mind, Naruto thinks of how he could have done better.  _Do this… do that… never do that again… stop that… you could never… why do you even try… there's something wrong with you… stop it… don't do that… do it… try again… worthless… stop doing that… why do you even try… something wrong… you're worthless… do this… don't do that… why… worthless…_

" _Kami, what the_ fuck  _did he just get himself into?"_

As Naruto's eyes start to slide shut with the efforts of several days' worth of exhaustion, he feels himself crumbling underneath it all. He knows now that he is a terrible medic, knows it in his heart but his head refuses to admit it… as always.

That's okay… he's come to terms with it. And as he falls unconscious he thinks…

_Worthless._

A worthless medic.


	33. Right Where I Left You

**Previously on** _**'The Great Medic'** _ **:**

_Kakashi's eyes slowly opened to a discolored ceiling, yellowed from age with water spots here or there. Everything was too quiet, too…_ peaceful _. It was nice to relax after his mind struggled through his memories._

_He slowly sat up in the rickety bed, looking around with narrowed eyes. It was dark out if it was anything to tell by the lack of light coming in from the window. Medical equipment was spread evenly across the room, looking well-kept but used. It made his stomach churn a little bit with apprehension, tension settling into his back._

_Kakashi took a deep breath, simply taking the time to appreciate his life and Naruto's life-saving healing abilities – if he was assuming that the medic was the one to fix him up. He knew there was little he could do now that he was incapacitated – with injuries like these, yeah, he's not going to be doing anything extracurricular for a while – and that left for a fog of boredom to settle over him._

_The creak of the stairs was sudden, the door opening to a sight he just hadn't been expecting then._

Wide dark eyes stared at him, blinking rapidly in shock. "Well, would you look at that, the boy was right." A chuckle came from the man, running a hand through his hair before fully entering the room, "Naruto said you'd wake up around this time." Tazuna gave the injured man a wide smile, shutting the door behind him. Kakashi was quiet, watching as the bridge builder pulled up a stool to his bedside. "How're you feeling?" Tazuna questioned, taking a seat.

"Tired." He admitted quietly, voice a little hoarse from disuse, "Hungry as well."

"Well, my daughter is making some lunch right now, so…" The man lets his voice trail off with a hand wave. They sat in silence, an awkward tension settling between the two. "I'm going to say this now," Kakashi eyed the older man in question, "I'm not entirely sure how to approach your injury stuff – like, what to give you for pain and if you should go back to sleep or something."

"I see."

"So, I'm just going to leave all that to Naruto when he comes back." He shrugged, shifting on the old stool uncomfortably.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows, a twinge of a headache somewhere, "When he comes back?"

"Huh?

"Is he not here now?" He gave the man another odd look, head still in a whirlwind from earlier. What had been going on while he was out of it?

"Nope." Tazuna stated with emphasis on the 'p'. He shifted again, looking a little tense, "I had an old friend of mine in need of aid, so he and Sakura went out to help. They should be back soon, so you don't have to worry about that."

Well, that answered his next question of Sakura's whereabouts but that still left one. He tilted his head to the side, "And Sasuke?"

"Downstairs helping Tsunami with lunch." The older man lets an easy smile find itself on his face, "Would you like to see him? I could go get him if you can't get up."

Kakashi thinks for a moment, eyes raking the room. Off in the corner nearest to him was a pair of crutches. "No, that won't be necessary." He shifts over to the side of the bed, ribcage flaring with pain. The silver-haired man takes a deep breath, head swimming a bit – he needs to take everything slow.

"You sure you can make it downstairs?" Tazuna questions cautiously, hands out in front of him as if the teacher would fall over.

"I assure you that I'll be fine." He tries, taking another breath – in and out – as he allows his legs to slip off the edge of the creaky bed. Kakashi takes it slowly getting his aching legs on the ground, letting the injured one hover just above it. He hobbles towards the crutches, using the bed as a means of maneuvering him to it without fear of falling over. After about a minute, the man is successful in his adventure, the crutches secured underneath his shoulders.

A bead of sweat trails down his neck, breathing a little strained.

"You don't look so good." Tazuna comments, having already gotten up from the stool and opened the door for the two of them.

Kakashi rolled his eyes – his headache pounded suddenly, something he would come to regret – as he started moving towards the other side of the room, "Thanks." The hint of sarcasm was almost lost on the older man.

"Least you still retained that supposed humor you have." He shook his head, amused.

"You wound me." The silver-haired man gave the other a tired eye-smile as they exited the room, heading towards the stairs. Kakashi gave it was weary stare, watching as Tazuna walked down them without him. He took his time, listening to the conversation on the bottom floor.

"How's Kakashi?" A feminine voice questioned – it must be their client's daughter, the Jonnin mused to himself.

"He'll be okay." Was all that Tazuna said, the sliding of a chair being heard.

"What about his vitals or all the other stuff Naruto told us to look out for?" Kakashi's heart swelled upon hearing Sasuke's voice – he was okay! Naruto did he job removing the poison.

"They're okay."

There was an annoyed noise in the air, one that he had heard from the Uchiha on multiple occasions. It made him smile – he hadn't seen his kids in what felt like years. He reached the last few steps, poking his head around the corner. "Tazuna-san is right." Sasuke's head swiveled to stare at him, eyes wide with shock, "I'm okay."

Sasuke was wrapping his arms around his waist within seconds, the sudden movement nearly knocking him off his crutches.

"Hey there, kiddo." Kakashi chuckled, more to himself than the others, "It's good to see you up and running."

"Speak for yourself, sensei." The boy's voice was muffled from being buried in his teacher's sweaty t-shirt.

He rubbed his kid's back with a bruised hand, taking a deep breath – inevitably hurting his lungs but he pushes it to the back of his head, he doesn't exactly want to worry his kid. "I love all this attention I'm getting but I'd love to sit down now," Kakashi announces with an awkward eye-smile.

Sasuke scoffs and pulls back but there was still a glimmer of worry washing over him as he leads his teacher over to the kitchen table. "Are you sure that you're okay to be up?" He whispers out, only the silver-haired Jonnin hearing him.

Kakashi feels his heart warm, "It's alright, Sasuke."

"Okay." The boy didn't look convinced.

A dark-haired woman comes over to him, a bowl of soup in her hands. She sets it in front of him, smiling to herself. "It's great to um, formally meet you." She held her hand out in front of her, "I'm Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter."

He reached for it, noticing that his own hand is quivering, "Kakashi." The man shakes her hand once before hiding his quaking fingers around a spoon.

"Please try to eat something." Tsunami gives him another smile before ushering Sasuke to get a bowl for himself.

"Thank you." The man mutters out, spooning a bit of the vegetable soup into his mouth. His stomach does a flip or two. He grits his teeth, no one noticing the change. Kakashi takes another deep breath, holding the inhale in for a moment before exhaling quietly. He continues to eat, pushing away the light-headedness filling him. "Sasuke."

The boy is at attention in an instant, walking over to his teacher quickly with a bowl in his hand, "What is it? Are you okay?"

Kakashi sighs out a chuckle, waving slightly, "Calm down, will you?"

"Sorry."

"It's okay, alright? I just have a question, that's all." He tried, stomach flipping again.

Sasuke nods slightly, taking a seat in front of his teacher, "Yeah?"

"What happened while I was out? At least from what you know." The man starts, "I do recall that we were separated and that there was a fight."

"Well, from what Naruto and Sakura tell me, Sakura summoned Naruto's clone to help you three," He motioned towards his teacher and their client, "since you had passed out and you all were injured in some way."

"And I was brought here?" Kakashi raised his eyebrow, looking over to Tazuna who simply nodded.

"Yeah, we were all messed up. I'm going to get some cool scars on my arms. Sakura's wrist was broken, and you were out-of-commission for a while." The older man rubbed his chin in thought, not looking all that disturbed by his words.

Kakashi could not say the same. The shinobi took a moment to think to himself, spooning another bit of vegetable soup into his mouth, "How long is 'a while'? A couple days?"

"Uh…" Tazuna gave Sasuke a look, the boy shrugging a bit, "It was more like three or four days, I think."

Kakashi's face was unreadable to the outside world as he continued to eat. He thought over the number for a bit. He wonders if his kids had been taking care of themselves – and each other, he adds as an afterthought. The man internally sighs, knowing that the answer to that question lies with Naruto who would know everything about the health of others more so than Sasuke who sits patiently in front of him.

However, Sasuke might still have some information.

"How are you three?" He asks after a minute, tilting his head slightly.

The Uchiha looks down at his hands, flexing them a bit, "Well, for me, I don't feel any of the effects of the poison anymore."

"That's good."

"Sakura's wrist has pretty much healed completely, but she doesn't sleep very well anymore." He admits quietly.

"With everything that's happened on this mission, I wouldn't be surprised." Kakashi says sympathetically, "Are you sleeping alright?"

"Yeah."

"And what about Naruto?"

The room fills with tension, apprehension.

"What's wrong with Naruto?" He utters out carefully, eyeing the other three in the room.

"To put it rather bluntly, he's overworked himself – he's practically on his last legs." Tsunami finally speaks, eyes trained on the ground, fingers fiddling with her dress, "The poor kid just works and works and  _works_. I haven't seen him take a break or take a moment to relax, he's always bustling around."

"He hasn't slept in over four days." Sasuke says then, looking uncomfortable with this information, "The last time he slept was the day we left Konoha."

Kakashi's eyes widen, "What?  _Why_?"

"At first," The teenager says slowly, "he stayed up because I was injured, and he had to keep a constant watch for any bandits that might have been in the area." Kakashi hangs onto every word he says. "But then he continued to stay awake because you," Sasuke motions to his teacher for emphasis, "were injured and so was Sakura and Tazuna-san, so he couldn't go to sleep." He said these final words quickly as if saying these things faster would allow his teacher to fix the problem quicker, "And then this guy – Hoshimaru – comes around and begs us for help so Naruto goes with him."

"I don't doubt for a second that that boy hasn't exhausted his energy – or chakra, whatever it's called." Tazuna states, eyes locking with the Jonnin across the room, "He's been using that green aura shit since he got here."

Worry plagued Kakashi's heart, jaw locking up. "Then was it a promising idea to send him away?" He asks after a moment, the room quickly silencing at his words, "He's a kid, so  _why_ was it a good idea?"

Sasuke looked at his clenched hands, voice quiet, "It… It  _wasn't_  a good idea."

Kakashi took a second to take a deep breath, in and out, before carefully looking at everyone's faces. Tsunami's eyes continued to train themselves on the ground, fingers fiddling with her dress again, eyebrows pulled in taut. Her father's face was scrunched up in thought, Tazuna simply keeping to himself through this. Out of the three in front of the Jonnin, Sasuke held the most guilt, the most regret. "Am I missing something here?" Kakashi asked quietly. He didn't sound angry, just confused.

"Yes." Tsunami states, taking a seat in front of him at the table, "A friend of mine – who used to work for my father on the bridge – left the job to work for Gatō."

"Gatō…?" Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows, wracking his brain for a moment before a sudden clarity filled his mind, "That guy who's after Tazuna-san?" A nod of confirmation from the three of them was all he got.

"Hoshimaru – the man I speak about – was approached by Gatō, who threatened the lives of himself and his family if he didn't fix one of the man's prized bandits." She continued slowly, hands laid out in front of her on the table, "Hoshi doesn't have experience in anything medical so, in a sense, there was nothing he could do for this bandit. Under certain circumstances, Hoshi found that we were housing a medic and begged for help."

"And Naruto stepped up to the plate?" Kakashi finishes, leaning back in his chair. His knee was starting to ache again as well as his chest.

"Sadly, yes." She looks away, shame filling her features, "Sakura went as well, a bit of a bodyguard of sorts."

"I see." He swallowed thickly, mulling over what to say next, "May I have a glass of water?" Tazuna, who was the closest to the sink, was already getting up from his seat to go get it. Kakashi utters a quiet 'thank you' when he receives the water only a minute later.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke's voice is a hushed whisper, eyes scouring the room as if something might be hiding in the walls, "I feel like it's wrong to  _not_ tell you this."

He gave the boy a skeptical look, taking a small sip of water, "What is it?"

The Uchiha shifted in his seat, "Naruto thinks that Zabuza is still alive."

Kakashi's eyes widened quite a bit, willing his body not to shoot up out of his chair, "Are… Are you _serious_?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean he's still alive?" He asks quickly, worries of all kinds clouding his mind once more. The room spins slightly, distracting him from the conversation at hand. He grits his teeth, holding back the pained gasp that desperately wants to leave his mouth. No one notices, thankfully, but Kakashi doesn't think that can stay up for much longer.

Sasuke shook his head, mouth pulled in a line, "I don't know but Naruto… he said that his clone got to see the guy's body before he was taken away by this hunter-nin-"

"There's a hunter-nin now?"

"-and Naruto was kind of thinking back to it a little while ago and said that he's still alive."

"And that reason is?" Kakashi tried.

Sasuke sighed quietly, looking into his teacher's eyes, "I… I don't know."

He takes a deep breath, hands clasped in front of him on the table, "Then I guess I better suit up soon." He really doesn't  _want_ to – his body aches and it hurts when he breathes, he doesn't exactly think he's ready for another battle.

" _What_ \- Kakashi-sensei, you can't!" The Uchiha intervened quickly, hands waving out in front of him, "You can't do  _anything_  until Naruto says you can. I don't even think you should be  _up_ right now."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" The silver-haired Jonnin states quietly, a wave of exhaustion falling over him.

"You do, I  _promise_  that you do." Sasuke says frantically, standing up from the table, "You just have to wait for Naruto to come back."

 _Promise_.

_The young medic with a bright smile and always tried to do his best, who couldn't promise anything because he wanted recognition from the village._

_Naruto._

"Fine." He grumbled out.

"Fine?" There was disbelief in Sasuke's voice like he hadn't expected his teacher to agree to that so quickly.

"You're right." Kakashi finally says, "I should wait for him before we do anything. And, if I must be honest, I'm not ready to fight again."

"Then you should probably head back to bed until the boy comes back," Tazuna says suddenly, having been quiet for so long.

The Jonnin eyes the man for a moment before nodding, "That sounds doable."

Sasuke moved to his teacher's side, "Do you need help getting upstairs?"

He wants to say no, wants to push the kid away because he shouldn't have to see him like this – in pain and weak. However, this is one of his kids and he should be allowed to do this for him. "Yeah," Kakashi says and, with the help of his student, they start heading towards the stairs. He eyes them, dread filling his stomach.

"I'll make sure you don't fall down," Sasuke says with a small smile.

"Thanks, kid." He returns it with an eye-smile of his own, the two making their way upstairs.

* * *

There's this sound, something consistent and terribly annoying.

Naruto can't pinpoint it – is it close to him or is it off in the distance? It sounds close enough to touch but too far away that it can't physically bother him. However, it makes him  _cringe_ , the steady noise of a… well, of  _something_  – he hasn't exactly figured out what it is.

He can't remember what happened to get him stuck with this noise, can't think past its consistent pattern. He feels drained beyond belief and Naruto desperately wants to fall back to sleep, but that  _fucking_ sound is torture to his ears. The medic knows he should get up and find a way to get rid of whatever was plaguing him. It was almost as if it was a…

 _Drip_.

The steady  _drip drop_ is so deafening in his ears after the recognition fills his head – Naruto can barely hear his own thoughts. It's hitting a puddle of water where the  _drip drop_ has consistently fallen, muting the sound if only a little bit. It splashes quietly, dinging off other water droplets and sending a wave of torture Naruto's way. He grits his teeth in anguish, wishing for his pillow at home to dull the pain if only by a little bit. He wishes to cover his ears and scream if only to get rid of the sound.

" _Someone get me out of-"_ A  _drip_ silences the thoughts,  _"If I have to –_ drip  _– someone please stop this, I don't think_ – drip –  _I'm actually going to go insane. Please_ – drip drop. _"_ Naruto screams out loud, head screeching at the same volume of the  _drip_ , the noise never ceasing. His screams never pierce the world, bubbling underneath the surface of his head but never expressing themselves out loud.

" **Are you done or are you going to sit there and whine forever?"** A deep voice silenced the noise, zapped away any other sound in this weird place.

Naruto's eyes opened slowly, staring up at a non-existent ceiling that disappeared into a deep black darkness. "What…?" His voice was a hushed whisper, eyebrows furrowing together in slight confusion. He found that his body was abnormally cold and wet. He sat up silently, eyes peering around him, checking out this strange new world.

In ankle-deep water, he laid on concrete surrounded by aged bricks that went miles high, disappearing into the strange ceiling. Water fell from above him, but, thankfully, Naruto could no longer hear its insistent  _drip drop_. He stood from the chilled water, turning around to get a better view of everything. The blond-haired gennin was standing in the middle of where four corridors connected, everything seemingly blending into each other.

"Where am I?" He asks aloud, hoping for some noise now that there was none. What a hypocrite he was.

 _Hypocrite_.

It feels like something just stabbed him, making the medic double over. Naruto grits his teeth, visibly in pain. Something was coiling around his heart, strangling it to death as another thing tore through his head. Tears pooled in his eyes, shuddering out a pained breath. There was a low grumbling off in the distance, the wound deep within him healing without a moment's notice. It was gone with a single, gasping breath. Naruto exhaled deeply, eyes blinking rapidly as he stood to his full height.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asks himself, mouth gaped open a bit. He swallowed thickly, searching the walls for anything. The gennin wracks his brain for anything to give him some sort of reference but nothing jars any sort of similarity. The only thing he has is a tugging on his gut, pulling him down the southbound corridor.

He's not even sure why he walks, there is nothing here – it's just him, the walls, and this non-existent ceiling.

Naruto takes a deep breath as he walks, running a hand down his face. He feels exhausted beyond belief – why he does, he can't remember. It's worrisome how he can't think of anything beyond this place and the thundering in the distance… wait a second.

There's thunder now?

The medic scrubs his face in irritation, finding the urge to smack himself in hopes of remembrance but squashes the idea down – he doesn't need to be walking around making a fool of himself. He rubs the back on his neck, finding some comfort in the odd movement, fingers tangling in his hair.

Shouldn't it be wet? He had been laying in water for who-knows-how-long. Naruto couldn't find it in his heart to care.

How long had he been walking? It felt like years since he'd gotten up but that's not possible as years would mean aging and if the image that's being reflected in this dirty water was anything to go by, it had definitely  _not_ been years. Naruto sighed, hands behind his head as he walked sluggishly. "Hello?" He called out after a moment of boredom.

Any noise that had been going on – his feet splashing against the water, the thundering in the background, and the sound of his breathing – all stopped at his voice.

"Well, that's weird," Naruto whispered to himself, eyes scouring the area again.

" **It's not when you realize what's in here."** The same voice from before called out, noise continuing from where it left off.

He stopped for a moment, eyebrows furrowed together, "Where are you?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

" **Keep walking, medic."**

Naruto thought for a moment, crossing his arms, "What if I don't want to?"

The thunder was loud in his ears, deafening anything beyond that.  **"You do that, and you will never leave this place."** It growled at him, deep and menacing in his ears,  **"And I want you** _ **out**_ **."**

"Why?" He took a step forward. There was something about that voice that just screamed terror, something evil hidden behind the words spoken to him. However, Naruto couldn't find it in himself to be scared. Was there something wrong with him? "Why should I leave?" He asked again.

" **Because you don't belong here, medic."** Whatever was beyond the darkness in front of him responded in a slow, monotone voice as if Naruto was too incompetent to understand the words if spoken in a regular tone of voice.

He had the decency to  _look_ offended.

The blond-haired gennin continued to march through the ankle-deep water, racking his brain for anything. His legs were starting to ache. "How much farther?" Naruto asked after a moment.

" **How much more will it take for you to be quiet?"** The thing countered.

He kept to himself, using the silence to think of something, "Where are you?"

It was as if something was dragging him by his middle, abdomen flaring up. It felt like something inside of him was on fire, burning symbols into his innards. The odd thing was that it didn't hurt, just a strange pressure building up within him. Naruto watched in fascination as the world passed him by, walls lightening in color and building back up to its original form – the cracks and moss were disappearing as he went. The black ceiling got a hue of navy blue, deepening with little spics of light somewhere. The water sliding around his feet in a hurry lost its dirty color, picking up the pigment of the floor.

The tugging at his abdomen suddenly stopping. If he hadn't already been on the ground, he might've fallen on his face. Naruto looked up, eyes staring in awe, "Woah."

Before him was humongous golden gates, some of the bars having lost its pigment with age. It extended to the height of the non-existent ceiling, reaching for the navy in the sky. The bars were thick and wide, large than Naruto tenfold – he could easily slip between them with room to spar. Between the gates was a flimsy piece of paper with kanji on it – a seal.

Naruto stopped, eyes staring at the seal. "Where are you?" His voice was quiet, hushed.

Two large eyes appeared behind the blackness of the gates, crimson red piercing the boy's soul. The creature had dark slits for pupils, the black slashes in its eyes flexing dangerously. A cruel smile appeared next, sharp white teeth grinning down at him. There was a flash of red in the background, flicking behind the creature's large body. It watched him – it was dangerous, Naruto could tell.

But he was not afraid.

" **Here I am."** It called to him, voice still carrying the same frequency it had before,  **"Are you happy now?"**

Naruto kept quiet, watching it with a keen eye. His mind tingled with remembrance, his life's story playing before him with such clarity. The academy, the gennin exam, his team, their mission, the injuries, the exhaustion, the  _pain_  – it came back in a flash of knowledge. "I know you." He responded slowly.

It's wide mouth grinned,  **"I would have hoped you'd know of me. I am quite famous in that little village of yours."**

"You're the Kyuubi no Kitsune – the nine-tailed fox." He stated.

The fox stepped up into the light, showing off its red body and tall stature. Nine large tails flexed around its body.  **"If you keep referring to me as 'it' in that little head of yours, I'll kill you right here, right now."** The threat carried some weight.

"You can read my thoughts?" The blond-haired gennin questioned, curiosity blooming within him.

" **I know everything you know and** _ **more**_ **, medic."** He twisted his head, flashing a cruel smile,  **"That's better. You'd do best to follow my instructions if you ever hope to get out of here."**

"Speaking of here, where is  _here_?" Naruto looked the fox in the eye, never breaking the contact once.

He growled lowly, tails flickering in annoyance,  **"Full of questions, young medic. I** _ **hate**_ **questions."**

The blond took a moment to mull over his next words, "This place is like a dungeon."

" **Close."** The nine-tailed fox mocked,  **"Mindscape."**

"It's all in my head?" He whispered out, the question aimed more towards himself than the creature before him, "I'm guessing that a mindscape is just a physical manifestation of… you?"

He hummed, laying his head down on his large paws,  **"At least you're smarter than my last container."**

"How many…  _containers_ have there been?" Naruto asks.

" **If you keep asking questions, I might just lose my temper."** Crimson eyes pierced his soul.

"Then how am I supposed to get out of here if you won't give me a bone to pick at?" Irritation flooded his words, eyes almost daring the beast to do something.

The fox laughed aloud, the noise bellowing and loudly nauseating.  **"A bone to pick at?!"** He no longer was laughing, teeth barred for all to see. Naruto stood his ground, defiant and defensive.  **" _You_ are the reason that you're here, you and your idiotic decision,  _medic_** **."** This time, the title was said with venom and hatred unlike how it was voiced with indifference from beforehand.

He hissed, taking a step forward, "What do you want from me?!"

" **No more questions!"** The Kyuubi no Kitsune shouted out, the noise sending Naruto to his knees,  **"You don't get that privilege. You will sit and** _ **listen**_ **."** When the boy didn't say anything, the fox continued.  **"You are here because you have overworked yourself to the point of shock."** He explained loosely.

"What?"

" **What did I just say,** _ **medic**_ **?!"** Sharp claws flashed in the limelight, sending a message,  **"You've exhausted all your chakra reserves to the point that I'm having to supply your very being with my own so that you won't die. You've fallen unconscious and you will stay here until you get your chakra back."**

Naruto sat motionlessly, eyes trained on the water.

" **I've been busting my ass making sure that my container does not die."** He hissed,  **"You'd do best to thank me for my efforts."**

"Why would it matter to you if I died?" He asked.

His abdomen was tugged forward, placing his body in between two of the golden bars. A large claw sat at his throat, making Naruto's head level with one of the Kyuubi no Kitsune's large crimson eyes.  **"You die, I die. Simply as that. If I could live without you, without this cage – I would kill you without a moment's notice."** The large creature voiced quietly, every word pierced with a poisonous tick,  **"We are not friends, this is just mutual surviving."** The tugging left him, pushing him to the ground again as the claw disappeared in the darkness.

Naruto's jaw locked up from a moment, "How bad is the damage?"

The large red fox eyed the boy for a minute.  **"You have chakra poisoning, but I can heal that within five hours. Your body is physically drained, and you've lost some oxygen to your brain. I'm feeding your oxygen reserves with chakra, forcing your body to take large breaths."** His voice was monotone, like a prerecorded message,  **"You have a low-grade fever from exertion that I can't do anything for as I already have so much on my plate."**

"I see." Naruto made eye-contact with the beast, "Thank you."

The nine-tailed fox scoffed,  **"Whatever, medic. Don't think I'll be willing to do this for you again."**

"So, you'll just let us die when another time comes around where I fall under like this again?" He titled his head.

" **I don't like you.**

Naruto rolled his eyes, "You don't have to. Isn't this just mutual surviving?"

" **If I could kick you out right now, I would do it in a heartbeat."** The Kyuubi hissed out, slamming his tails against the walls.

"So, what do I do in the meantime?" He asked, leaning back in the ankle-deep water.

" **I couldn't care less about what you do, just don't bother me. I've already wasted too much energy speaking to you."** The nine-tailed fox turned around, disappearing into the darkness behind the golden gates,  **"Wander, get lost, just leave me be."**

"Fine." Naruto rolled his eyes, turning back to the corridor behind him.

Despite everything that's happened to him, this probably isn't the most painful thing he's gone through mentally. Out of everything, speaking with the Kyuubi no Kitsune is definitely not the most painful.

He continues to walk, the golden gates no longer in view.

"I'm sorry." Naruto utters to the fox, the thundering filling the background, his only response.

* * *

It had only been a little over an hour after Kakashi had gone back to bed that there was a knock on the door. Tsunami, being the only one in the room at the time, hurried over to it. Just as she was about to place her hand on the doorknob, the woman stopped herself – one of Gatō's men might be behind the door. She quietly turned towards the window, peeking out behind old blinds.

A flash of pink had her opening the door with a haste. She smiled, ushering the teenager in, "Sakura, it's so good to see you back."

She gave the mother of one a small smile, "It's good to be back, I guess." Tsunami furrowed her eyebrows, watching the kunoichi head over to the kitchen for some coffee. Sakura turned to her, "Would you like some?"

"Yes, please." The dark-haired woman responded, moving over to her, "Are you alright, Sakura?" She grits her teeth, eyes downcast. Tsunami glanced between her and the door, "Where's Naruto?"

"I…"

The woman's eyes widened, placing her hands on the teenager's shoulders, spinning the pink-haired girl to face her. Sakura's eyes were wide and close to tears. Tsunami assumed the worse, "Sakura, where's Naruto?!"

"I left him."

"You what?!" A voice from the stairs interrupted them. Sasuke marched down the stairs, pulling his teammate away from their client's daughter. "You  _left_ Naruto?!" He shouted out, shaking her a bit, "Why would you do that?!"

Tears slid down her cheeks, "It was Z-Zabuza."

"What?" Both Sasuke and Tsunami voiced, concern lacing the word.

"The b-bandit he had to heal was Zabuza." She sobbed out, "A-And Naruto just- I couldn't  _believe_ him…" Sakura scrubbed her face angrily, desperately trying to stop her cries. "Even after he f-found out that this random  _guy_ was Z-Zabuza, Naruto continued to t-treat him because it's 'his job'." She aggressively used her fingers in a quotation motion, "He should have just k-killed him but now Zabuza is going to get better and slaughter us."

Sasuke reeled back from the information, pushing the kunoichi away, "So you decided that the best course of action was to leave our exhausted teammate by himself in enemy territory because you were offended?"

Her bottom lip quivered, shame filling her eyes, "I… I was angry and-"

"Even if you were angry, you two are friends, are you not?" Tsunami said quickly, "After everything he's done for you, this team, and my family, you  _leave_ him because you were angry?"

Sakura nodded slowly, jaw tense, "I wasn't right in my head. I  _know_  that I messed up and… and I need to apologize when I see him again."

"Is he on his way back now?" The Uchiha asked.

"I… I think."

"What do you mean you  _think_?" He took a step forward, aggression in his eyes, "Is he coming back or  _not_?"

Sakura dropped her head, "I told him that… t-that I didn't want to see him… ever."

"Great,  _fantastic."_ Sasuke hissed, "Good work being a bodyguard, Sakura. The whole point of you going with Naruto was to – I don't know –  _protect_ him. Instead, you abandon him. Fantastic work."

"Sasuke, please, I was just-"

"Why is everyone yelling?" An exhausted voice called from the top of the stairs. Heads swiveled to stare at Kakashi who leaned heavily on the wall and his crutches.

Sakura's eyes welled with tears again, "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

He stopped, "Sakura, what did you do?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed this long chapter, took quite a while to write everything as I've really been busting my ass with all my school work. However, it's my fault for having so much work as I'm the one who signed up for harder classes – oh well, I guess. I'll survive.
> 
> So, I kind of want to rant about something. A lot of the comments I've been getting are formatted like: "I really liked this chapter but I feel like this arc is too long". I get it, the Wave mission started on Chapter 18 and this is Chapter 33. Look, I had only wanted this arc to be ten really long chapters, but things got in the way and I also changed most of the plot for this arc halfway through it. I went through a writing funk where I couldn't produce more than 4,000 words at a time and then all that stuff with my personal life went on so please stop saying that this arc is long, it makes me feel bad. When this arc is over, I'll be going over some things that were changed from the original plot idea – if you readers would like.
> 
> So, please bear with me for right now. That's why this chapter is longer than most other chapters because I'm guessing that there are probably only going to be like three or four more chapters after this until the Chunnin exam arc starts. That's it from me; I'll see you all on the next update.
> 
> If you prefer reading in Spanish, head over to the Spanish version of this story – the first two chapters are up right now! Don't forget to give my translator some love too!


	34. Tension Headaches

Kakashi had always been a light sleeper.

When he was little, he used to hate waking up in the middle of the night because something sounded off within the house – it was usually something mundane like the creak of the old wood floors in the living room or his father finally getting home after a long mission, creeping back into the house at an unearthly hour. The silver-haired man remembers not being able to go to sleep during the war, instead keeping an eye on his slumbering teammates – whether it was out of caution or anxious worrying, he hadn't been able to differentiate it.

He used to hate it but now he's found it to be valuable – it was his double-edged sword, cutting up his wrists and keeping him awake.

Growing up without a proper sleep schedule and waking up at random intervals, he's built up something akin to a homing device of sorts. Unlike the traditional homing expedient, his can pick out sounds. Someone washing dishes, shuffling of feet, loud voices, metallic shifting, quiet whispering – almost anything could be heard by him.

Even if Kakashi had been sleeping beforehand, at the drop of a hat – figuratively and literally – he'd be awake in less than five minutes. This detection of any kind of disturbances in his general vicinity was trained as he grew to become a ninja, Kakashi allowing it to happen to him. It helped to harden his growing path towards tracking; his hearing was top-notch among other high-ranking ninjas in his field.

So, it was no wonder he could hear the blatant arguing downstairs.

At first, Kakashi was willing to let it pass, exhaustion having taken him an hour or so ago. His body was still healing – slowly, but surely – and he needed rest; that's what most doctors recommended him when he landed himself in the hospital – it's what Naruto would have recommended, he mused to himself. However, he couldn't let the shouts pass him by – he was hearing the conversation so clearly now... well, sort of, Kakashi was still a bit drowsy from sleep.

The silver-haired man peeked his eyes open, leaning his head towards the door, eardrums catching on something. "Is he on his way back now?" Kakashi could determine quite accurately that this was Sasuke's voice but there was an undertone of anger boiling underneath his words. The silver-haired Jonnin furrowed his eyebrows, already sitting up – he had to admit, he was a bit curious.

"I… I think?"

"What do you mean you  _think_?" The Uchiha's voice was rising, a bit of moving being heard downstairs, "Is he coming back or  _not_?"

Kakashi had moved towards the door, creaking it open without much difficulty. He headed for the stairs in a bit of a rush, rubbing his eyes of sleep. "I told him that…" He heard, "t-that I didn't want to see him… ever."

"Great,  _fantastic_." There was a hiss of malice.

The older man took his time going down the stairs, feeling exhaustion tugging on the back of his mind. His knee – from only a bit of maneuverability – was already starting to kill him, flaring up in a flame of pain. He takes a shuddering breath, noises drowning out around him. Kakashi's head starts to swim – maybe it was a bad idea to get up, he hasn't exactly been  _resting_.

"- _protect_ him. Instead, you abandon him. Fantastic work." A headache is blooming in his temples, throbbing painfully. Kakashi has to agree with himself, it was a bad idea to go investigate because now he's feeling worse than when he first woke up.

"Sasuke, please, I was just-"

He couldn't take the pain anymore, leaning against the wall with his body aching beyond belief. His head felt like it was splitting open. "Why is everyone yelling?" He called out from the stairs, watching as three heads turned towards him. Tsunami's cheeks and neck were red with anger, a fire in her eyes – he nearly reeled back from the look, remembering the kindness and soft features she portrayed only an hour earlier. Sasuke looked ready to kill someone, his hands balled into fists beside his thigh.

And Sakura?

_Regret._

_Shame._

_Fury._

Her eyes welled with tears, taking a step towards him, "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

He stopped, not sure what to do. There's a tightness in his chest and a foreboding feeling in the air. He can't wrap his head around this, can't even figure out what the  _hell_ is going on. Kakashi takes a deep breath first, swallowing back the anxiety pooling in his mouth before looking into his student's sorrowful eyes, "Sakura, what did you do?" She can't look at him, shame filling her eyes – her fists are pale white, balled together. He steps completely off the stairs, standing to his full height. "What happened?" He tried again but still, his student refused to give him peace of mind.

Sasuke walks around his teammate, sending her a hateful stare – she shrinks away from him. Anger fuels the fire in his eyes. "She  _left_ him." He hisses out, pointing at her reproachfully.

"What?"

"Sakura left him because she was mad." He sputters out hastily as if saying it faster would allow Kakashi to fix their problems – fix Sakura, Kakashi's mind mumbled out. "She abandoned  _Naruto_ ," Sasuke states, staring her down.

His breath comes out like ice.

" _People who abandon their friends are worse than trash."_

All eyes are on him as he stands there, frozen in place, mind drawing blanks. His knees are starting to grow weak – either from the pain or the revelation. The injured man takes his time reaching the table, sitting down at the table – his hands shake uncontrollably. Kakashi took a deep breath,  _in and out_ , take a moment and  _breathe_ , he told himself. His jaw tensed, an unfamiliar feeling settling in his stomach.

"Kakashi…" Sakura started out, tears drying but face still puffy and red, "Say something,  _anything_."

"Even  _if_ I had something to say, I'm not entirely sure I want to speak to you right now… or ever." Kakashi's eyes leveled hers, a startled gasp leaving her.

" _Leave me_ alone _, Naruto. I don't want to see you right now or_ ever _."_

"However, as I am a  _kind_ person who doesn't get mad without reason, I'll let you make your case." Kakashi stated out slowly, like his student couldn't possibly understand it if spoken any other way, "But know this Sakura, as of right now, you are worse than trash."

She gulped, nodding her head slowly. "Um… what do you know about me and N-Naruto leaving?"

"That he was offered a job from a man who needed the help and you came as a backup of sorts." He stated quietly. Sasuke was standing to his right, arms crossed in an angry, defensive way.

"Well… I stayed outside of the room because we had this awkward conversation and Naruto said that patients get weird about other people – like ninjas." She fiddled with her shirt, trying to ignore the dirty looks Tsunami and her teammate were sending her – her eyes would meet no one, "I told him that, if he was in danger at all, to just like, flare up his chakra to let me know that something was going on and I'd go into the room."

"I'm assuming that he did just that?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, hanging onto every word just in case.

The kunoichi shook her head, looking at her hands, "It wasn't him – it was Zabuza. He… He was the one Naruto was supposed to heal."

Kakashi thought for a moment. He could, despite not wanting to, can already see where this is going – she reacted based on her past experience with Zabuza and how they hurt her and himself. Combine that with her suppressed anger issues that he  _thought_ he'd completely addressed when they first became a team – obviously, she hides it better – Sakura would be a complete mess in that situation.

"I go into the room and Zabuza is on the bed and he's got Naruto's wrist in a vice grip – I thought he was going to snap his  _arm_!" Her voice sounded higher pitched at the end, as if she was reliving it again, "I was ready to fight again but… Naruto stopped me and just continued to work on Zabuza as if he hadn't done horrible things."

He shook his head, "But, Sakura, that was his  _job_  – he went to heal someone for a man's family. If-"

"I  _know_!" Sakura cut him off, eyes staring exasperatedly at him with her arms out in an open stance, "I… I  _really_ messed up and… and I let my anger get the best of me. I shouldn't have said anything about it to Naruto but I… I wasn't able to control my temper."

"Yeah, and because of that, Naruto's missing." Sasuke spat out.

"He… He's not  _missing_ …" Sakura tried, shrinking a bit, "He just needs time away from me. He'll come back." Her words sounded less sure as she continued.

Kakashi sat quietly through this, though, unsure himself of what to do. Should they send someone to go look for Naruto – he was in no shape to do anything physical for quite some time, so he was out of the question. He doesn't want to send one of his remaining two students out by themselves to search for the medic – who knows what someone might try to an unattended teenager. The Jonnin also couldn't send Sakura and Sasuke out together because someone needed to protect Tazuna and his family and, as mentioned earlier, Kakashi isn't exactly read for intensive combat in close-quarters.

Too stuck in his thoughts, Kakashi missed most of the conversation – or rather argument – going on between his students. "All right, that's  _enough_!" His voice was raised just a bit but not too much, his throat still felt pretty raw. Sasuke and Sakura looked to him – Tsunami's disappeared; she probably walked off. "Listen, both of you…" The silver-haired Jonin sighed, thinking over the situation a bit more, "Naruto is a smart kid and tougher than most give him credit for. If he's injured, he can help himself. If he just needs time, then we'll give him that. But, the truth is, we don't know exactly what's going on with him."

"So, what are you suggesting we do?" Sasuke asked, lip curling in a snarl.

"We wait." He states, staring directly into his students' eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't…" Sakura glanced at her crush, jaw tensing, "I don't think that's a good idea. I think we should find him."

The older man shook his head, standing up from the table – if he leaned heavily on his crutches with a pained pinch in his brows, no one said anything, "Trust me on this. I don't want either of you to go out alone to search for him and you both know that I can't protect this house. What I'm trying to say is that we can't burn this torch at both ends, we only end up hurting ourselves."

"What if he's bleeding out right now and your solution is to  _just wait_?" The Uchiha mocked aggressively.

Kakashi leveled his eyes on his student, starling the boy at how cold they were, "My word is final, Sasuke. You'd do best to listen to it."

He ground his teeth together, fists clenching and unclenching, "Fine."

"And Sakura?"

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"Next time you decide to abandon your teammate, I'm kicking you off this team," Kakashi states harshly.

Tears rose up in her eyes, bobbing her head up and down quickly, "Yes… Y-Yes, sir."

"Good." He heads for the stairs again, already feeling the headache pooling in his temples and the exhaustion tugging him towards the bed. This whole healing process is starting to get annoying.

He just needs to wait it out and then Kakashi will be okay.

Naruto's going to be okay.

He  _has_ to.

* * *

Many knew Naruto as a medical encyclopedia – the kid who knew everything and anything that might help the human body. He'd often been called this, but he never found it insulting. If anything, it was a great descriptor of his medical prowess.

However, it kind of makes Naruto sad that no one really knew the extent of his mental  _thesaurus_  – it's different, but it's still a part of him. All kinds of words stacked on top of each other in a neat pile off in the estranged corners of his brain, hidden in the nooks and crannies of his mental prowess. This intellectual thesaurus came in hand when the only word he could come up with to describe the mindscape was...

 _Weird_.

And so the book opens, peeling back the pages to search for a synonym of some sort to describe the odd and rather bizarre creation. In this thesaurus, some have written it to be awful – Naruto could hardly call the mindscape  _awful_ , just a bit strange. Others laced their definitions of such a thing as creepy, curious-invoking; this went more along with his thought process. He definitely found it freaky – more so than weird – ghastly even. It was mysterious, a peculiar thing – belonging to something supernatural; unearthly, his mind muses to itself.

He can hear the thunder in the background, can feel the annoyance wafting of the Kyuubi no Kitsune – the fox must get tired of his constant mind ramblings. Naruto snickers as the low rumble, an almost confirming noise.

That's another thing - the way sound travels in the mind is… does he even have to say it anymore? It's plain old  _weird_ , invoking thought in the strangest way. Even if the gennin walked for hours – trying to make some distance between himself and the Kyuubi no Kitsune – he still could not escape the sounds the fox makes from its cage.

A peal of thunder rolls through the ceiling.

"Sorry." He mutters underneath his breath, "Forgot." The fox is not an  _it_ , it's a  _him_. The ceiling hums in acceptance, layering over his mind like a fog cloud – a warm,  _comforting_ fog cloud, not the cold and creepy ones that go over forests with the intent to  _hurt_.

For some – he's getting tired of using this word – weird way, Naruto finds that he can't stray too far from what he assumed to be the middle of his mindscape – or maybe it the end of it… the start of where everything begins? The blond isn't entirely sure how to describe the feeling besides an extreme exhaustion washing over him, sending him to his knees. He's back at the gates in the blink of an eye, looking into the Kyuubi's crimson eyes that stare at him without a trace of emotion.

Sometimes Naruto feels as though he's floating, feeling the cool water pooling around his body, hugging him. There's usually a tugging feeling at his abdomen, pulling him back to the Kyuubi no Kitsune's cage – it was almost as if it was intentional.

Thunder. A spark of lightning dances in the darkness of the ceiling, streaks of light glistening behind a hue of a navy color as it disappears just as fast as it had come.

"Intentional, huh?" Naruto's eyebrow quirks, eyes still searching the darkness above him for more signs of life as his back slid down against the grimy walls. He must be far pretty far away from the golden gates as the area he's in is quite hideous, full of moldy substances on the walls and dirtied water. However, the boy doesn't exactly get dirty in this place, so he doesn't necessarily  _care_.

On a previous note, Naruto still finds it – his thesaurus brain works again, whirring behind a muddy mind –  _peculiar_  that the Kyuubi no Kitsune communicates differently from other beings of talking nature; granted, Naruto's never  _talked_ with anything quite like the fox hidden deep with the seal on his stomach. The thunder – and now lightning – as well as the telepathic ways of the demon, playing melodic words through his head without so much as a warning. It was just a little…

Weird.

"I'm going to start hating that word after this is done." He murmurs to himself, tapping an absent tune against his thigh, "I bet you hate it right about now." Naruto searches the darkness above him once more, not getting that confirming sound as he had before. He tilted his head, feeling strange after the lack of noise.

 _Drip_.

"No." He nearly pleads, "Please don't let me hear that again." The bothersome sound of water tapdancing with puddles off in the distance playing broken melodies in his ears. Naruto grits his teeth in anguish, curling up around himself and –  _drip drop_  – sighs out, annoyed. "C'mon…" He murmured out, peeking up at the ceiling.

Nothing.

"Of course." The blond huffed, rubbing his eyes as a sudden bout of exhaustion coursed through him. It's tugging at the back of his mind, face heavy with an effort to stay awake. Naruto fought it with every ounce of fight left within him – he didn't want to fall asleep anything, he's been in and out of consciousness for… however long he's been in the mindscape.

 _Drip_. His eyes startle to life, the sound nauseatingly loud in his ears.  _Drop_.

Naruto groans in frustration, looking up at the ceiling again. He takes several deep breaths, seemingly not getting enough oxygen in his system. He furiously rubs his face in hopes of erasing the tiredness coursing through him – as well as trying to distract himself from the insistent noise still going through his head.

He smacks his dried lips together –  _drip drop_ – and yawns silently. "I'm tired." The medic says aloud, looking to the ceiling for anything, "Are you making me tired?"

Silence.

His mind whirled with a fog, remembering the time before, "I'm tired and you're making me tired." His words are said with an exhausted reassurance as if he knew he was right.

A streak of lightning, a boom of thunder. The water dropping dissipates instantly.

Naruto smiles to himself in a bout of success, watching as the ceiling turns back to black, leaving no trace of the white glow of lightning. "You're having to use a lot of my energy – and I'm guessing your's too – to help heal me." His tone stays steady, knowing that a question will get him nowhere. From being taught to ask questions at any given moment due to his status as a medic, the fox leads him to speak without an inquiry of some sort – it was strange.

Lightning.

Still, he's worried.

"How sick am I?" His voice is quiet then, arms wrapped around his knees, head laid on top of that. A yawn is pulled from his throat, eyes heavy. Naruto's not sure if the Kyuubi no Kitsune will answer to him, remembering how aggressive he got when presented with too many questions at one time. However, as a medic, he  _needs_ this answer, needs to know that he'll be okay – his team needs him to be okay.

Dozens of lights flare up in the sky, lightning strikes the ground right in front of him. As he scoots his feet closer to his body, Naruto's eyes widen at the deafening of thunder pounding in his ears without restraint. Noises rang in and out of his head, pulling a startled screech from his mouth. Everything  _hurt_ , burned deep within his brain.

This was so much  _worse_  than the water.

Lightning struck the ground again – this time more powerful – it splinters the concrete with ease and sends water flying everywhere. Naruto covered his ears, trying to keep himself contained up against the wall as to limit the space between himself and the lightning still pouring out in front of him. Thunder still hammered against his eardrums, sending vibrations to shake up his brain. He couldn't take it anymore. "Stop!" He cried out, tears springing in his eyes, "Please stop!"

" **Medic."**

The silence was earsplitting, all sounds eliminated at the voice. He turned over to the side, taking deep breaths as his arms quivered like a leaf. A sudden bout of nausea rose up in his throat, face hot and the room suddenly stifling. His jaw shook as Naruto used a bit of his energy to peek up at the sky, seeing lightning streak across the sky without the thunder to back it up – it was terrifying yet beautiful.

" **Heal and leave me be."** The fox stated without a single trace of emotion to it,  **"Stop worrying about anyone but yourself."**

 _His team needed him to be okay_.

The words replayed in his head – more out of awe than a mantra. The fox tells him to stop worrying about his team, but it's been ingrained into Naruto's head to  _worry_ about  _them_ , rather than himself. They  _need_ him.

" **No, they don't."** The Kyuubi no Kitsune speaks slowly, as if the words weren't properly reaching the blond,  **"You** _ **think**_ **they do because you don't believe that they care about you."**

"What are you talking about?" Naruto could feel a fire burning in his soul, jaw clenched together as he rose from the wall. His knees wavered, "You're not making any sense."

" **Medic."** He says to the boy,  **"You think they only play nice because of your status. You give to the team what was not there in the first place – a hand to heal. Without you, they are nothing – am I wrong in my assumptions?"**

"Yes."

" **Wrong, medic."**

He felt dizzy, a fire burning in his cheeks – was he exerting himself too much right now? He was fine just a minute ago – well, not really. Instead of trying to find the answer, Naruto could feel himself glance at the ceiling, blue eyes fueled with an angry uncanny to him, "They  _do_ care about me because they're my friends."

Thunder rolls in the distance,  **"You don't believe that. You think you do, medic, but you're wrong."**

"They care." Naruto whispers out, stamping his foot against the water, sending water flying, "They  _do_."

" **Stop fighting the truth, you hurt yourself twice when you do that."** The nine-tailed beast states, ceiling lighting up with crimson – it was as if his eyes were there, glaring at him from the darkness,  **"They hurt you in ways your human mind does not fully understand. Not only are you physically exhausted from straining yourself to be their lapdog – healing everything you deemed to be** _ **your**_ **fault – but you've mentally exhausted your reserves. You cannot** _ **begin**_ **to wrap your tiny brain around this fact"**

"Stop it."

" **However, medic,"** The fox spoke slowly again, navy and red lighting up the ceiling,  **"I am inside of you all day, every day. I** _ **feel**_ **what you feel,** _ **see**_ **what you see, and** _ **know**_ **more than you could ever** _ **hope**_ **for."**

"I said  _stop_."

" **They care but you can't find it in yourself to believe that."** The water around his ankles ripple in unison to his words,  **"You believe that they are using you, that all gratitude directed towards you is because of your status, medic. So why do you continue to** _ **believe**_ **that they need you?"**

"Because  _I_ care about them." At the silence, Naruto continued, his heart racing, "They are the only family I've ever had and… and I  _know_ that I think they don't care but that's only my… my t-thoughts. I know they care, even if I can't find it in myself to believe them."

" **Medic."**

"Yes?"

" **They don't need you** _ **right now**_ **so stop dwelling on it."** The Kyuubi no Kitsune shifted in the back of the mindscape, the sound reaching his ears despite the distance,  **"What** _ **you**_ **need is to rest."**

Light seemed to die in Naruto's eyes, body tipping back into the water. The liquid curled around him, warm and inviting. Exhaustion tugged at his heartstrings, wiping any thoughts prolonging their lifespan in his brain. The ankle-deep water caressed his body in a comforting manner, drifting back to – supposedly – the middle of the mindscape when the Kyuubi no Kitsune waited for him.

" _When will I wake up?"_ He finds himself thinking to himself, not completely asleep – it was more of a gray area, his body shutting down but his mind still active. No answer follows so he changes his words,  _"I guess I'll wake up soon… an hour, maybe."_

" _ **No."**_

" _Two?"_

" _ **You need four days of healing here."**_ The fox explained quietly, voice muted by the mud in his head.

If Naruto had any control over his dead body, he might have nodded in acceptance at the Kyuubi's words but he was simply too exhausted to do anything besides think.

It was pretty  _weird_.

" _ **You're no thesaurus, medic."**_ He couldn't tell whether the fox's tone was that of annoyance or of amusement – he probably won't ever find out but that's okay.

Naruto sighed into the water, warm with a light feeling in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm going to come right out and say that this chapter is… not all that great? It's not the content, it's how the content is written. I've just had to finish two analytical essays this week for two different teachers, so that's why this chapter sounds… technical? Formal? It's one of the two. But, yeah, that's that. Also, it's much shorter than I'd anticipated but I was just having such a hard time writing this – well, not the Naruto/Kyuubi part, that was really fun to write. Enough of that, I've got some life updates for you!
> 
> Good news – it's Christmas Break now! Bad news – it ends January 2nd which means I'm not going to have as much time to write or do fun stuff so this might be the only chapter posted during the break, sorry that it sucks too. Another thing – I'm going to be posting an original story soon for a writing contest that I'm entering in soon. If you want more information about this, go onto my profile message board and the story link to the contest will be there. Um… I think that's all? Well, I guess I'll see you. Until next time!


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